Australia has shrugged off concerns over Marnus Labuschagne’s condition after he was hit on the hand during a training session on Saturday.
The star batsman caused a brief scare in training when he wore a sidearm to the finger after being regularly battered in the World Test Championship final.
However, he was able to continue batting after being inspected by the team’s medical staff.
“He kept hitting, so he must have been fine,” said hitting coach Michael Di Venuto.
‘Otherwise he would have run away. He has a finger that has taken a few blows. I think he just got another one.
Marnus Labuschagne sent an injury alert through Australia on Saturday
The Aussie batsman suffered a nasty blow to his finger while practicing in the nets at Lord’s
“He said it felt better because the blood started to flow through it or something. So it makes sense if that’s what you want.’
Meanwhile, the Australian coaches are convinced Labuschagne’s double bust against Stuart Broad’s outswingers was an aberration and hope the batsman’s technical problems have already been resolved.
Labuschagne fell behind Broad in almost identical fashion twice in the first Ashes Test, playing balls well outside the stump for a first-ball duck and 13.
His struggle came when Steve Smith also failed twice in the win at Edgbaston, the pair’s total contribution of 35, their lowest in a match where they have both batted twice.
The pair returned to training on Saturday, batting almost two hours before the start of the second Test at Lord’s on Wednesday, in a session initially intended for reserve players.
Labuschagne, in particular, looked much calmer after pleading guilty to shuffling in last week’s layoffs at Broad.
“I hadn’t seen what happened in the first Test [before],’ Di Venuto said.
“And it certainly didn’t happen at The Oval the week before [in the World Test Championship final].
Australian coach Andrew McDonald (right) told Labuschagne (left) to work on his game after a disappointing performance in the first Ashes Test
Whatever it was, hopefully it was short lived and he can get back to normal this week.
‘It was quite normal [in training on Saturday]. And that is all we have seen in the nets in the construction.
“It can be a little strange, sometimes things happen in the game. He stole two balls which he normally leaves quite regularly. Hopefully he will bounce back this week.”
Di Venuto said it was likely that Smith and Labuschagne would have trained regardless of their low scores, and joked that the two had probably been bored by shadow strikes in their rooms.
But he was convinced that major changes were not necessary for the 29-year-old.
“He can probably leave a few balls on the 12th stump line, that would be nice,” said Di Venuto.
‘Marnus is always busy with his game. You have all seen him train before, he is meticulous in his preparation.
“He is technically always fiddling with different things. That’s all pretty normal for Marn.
Labuschagne fell behind Stuart Broad twice in almost identical fashion in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston
Labuschagne was out for a duck in his first innings and made 13 in his second pitch
The English sailor revealed ahead of the series that he had developed a delivery specifically targeting Labuschagne and Steve Smith
“He’s got a few other reasons why he thinks he played at the ball he thinks he’s patched up. As we saw today, hopefully he’s back on track.”
Di Venuto said he was buoyed by David Warner’s batting, who showed a glimpse of promise in four innings on the tour after arriving as the man under most pressure.
“He’s back a little bit more into the Davey we know. Get into the ball, put a lot of energy into the crease, try to attack,” said Di Venuto.
“There are really good signs he may have success just around the corner.”