[Watch] Marnus Labuschagne fine tunes weight of his bat using tools from the groundstaff shed ahead of 5th Ashes Test at the Oval
Australian top-order batter Marnus Labuschagne recently made a few alterations to the weight of his bat using tools from the groundstaff shed ahead of the 5th Ashes Test at the Oval. Australia are currently leading the series 2-1 going into the final match and have managed to retain the urn successfully.
England dominated the majority of the time in the fourth Test and looked primed to level the series and keep their trophy hopes alive. However, the rain played a spoiled sport for them and washed out day 5 of that Test in Manchester. Marnus Labuschagne hit a fighting century on day 4 and rescued Australia from a precarious situation by building a partnership with Mitchell Marsh.
Ahead of the last match of the series, Labuschagne spent some time working on his bat to make sure it had perfect weight, according to him.
You can watch in the video below:
Some DIY for @marnus3cricket on the eve of the final #Ashes Test, getting the bat he wants to use in the game to the perfect weight with a few tools in the ground-staff shed pic.twitter.com/cRlna4Y1Xn
"It's being spoken about like the 2005 series"- Ricky Ponting ahead of 5th Ashes 2023 Test
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting was not on the same page with the English captain Ben Stokes' views and stated that people would talk about the results when they lose a series 3-1. He added that individual performances which came in a losing cause, might not garner much attention in that case.
Speaking to the ICC Review, Ponting said:
"They probably will be spoken about, but I mean, even if they don't win, this is the other thing – with one Test match to go, if Australia win and they beat England 3-1, I'm sure more people are going to be speaking about that result rather than some of the individual performances from England," said Ponting.
He continued:
"It's being spoken about like the 2005 series, and we know the 2005 Ashes had a huge impact on the way Test cricket was watched and probably played all around the world after that series. England can be very proud of what they're trying to achieve and what they're trying to do."
The fifth Ashes 2023 Test between England and Australia will commence today (27 July) at the Oval.