Leeds: Australia captain Tim Paine while admitting that replacing Steve Smith is a herculean task said that Marnus Labuschagne has performed in the last match and will bear the responsibility to fill the void.
"It's up to everyone else particularly our senior players to just make sure we give that bit more output and cover Steve (Smith) as best we can," said Paine.
Smith, whose Test average of 63.24 is bettered only by the great Sir Don Bradman in the all-time list, was ruled out at Headingley because of concussion after taking a blow to the neck from a Jofra Archer bumper at Lord's.
Talking about Smith's absence Aussie skipper said, "There are not too many guys or there is one other that have averaged higher than Steve (Smith) in Test cricket. Clearly, they're huge shoes to fill. We're not going to put all that pressure on Marnus (Labuschagne). Marnus comes in to play a role in our team and it's up to everyone else particularly our senior players to just make sure we give that bit more output and cover Steve (Smith) as best we can."
Labuschagne stepped in as international cricket's first concussion substitute and performed commendably in Smith's absence, registering a 100-ball 59 as the tourists secured a nail-biting draw to preserve their 1-0 series lead.
