There has been a distinctly upbeat tone in English cricket during the short leadup to the Headingley Test. For once, the local bowlers do not have to worry about dismissing Steve Smith, the man who has sacked them for 10 Ashes centuries since his first in 2013, but will sit out this week with concussion. England have the cause of that concussion on their side, in the fast bowler Jofra Archer. And, with an hour’s less rain the Lord’s draw could have been an England win, which is an encouraging way to leave a stalemate.

Like the Swiss flag, each of those is a big plus. But the talk of momentum shifting implies an equal transference between the two teams; a system where energy is finite and can only change location or state. The analogy doesn’t account for two separate systems. England may have gained pep, but that doesn’t mean Australia had to lose it.

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Archer’s fast and furious visit to Lord’s probably left its deepest impression locally. Or to put it another way, England’s shock at having a fast bowler is much greater than Australia’s shock at facing one. A handful of Englishmen have had their moments with the speed gun but precious few in living memory, and none with Archer’s casual, coiled ease. Never with the swagger, the quiet surety, the coolness in every sense that in three months has turned a debutant into an Ashes threat and a World Cup finisher.

Archer is undoubtedly special: his high release point and the whip through his delivery mean he gets steep bounce from a fuller length. Or on a slow wicket such as Lord’s, some balls bounce lower. Combine the two and getting out of the way becomes a nightmare. We saw this when he sconed Hashim Amla in the World Cup opener before the South African champion had fully scratched his guard.

But in Australian cricket, plenty of express bowlers roll in and let it rip. Passing 90mph is a point of pride, not a unicorn sighting. Facing it is a batsman’s job. An English mind may be confounded by how to face what one can’t conceive of. For an Australian cricketer the problem of Archer is technical, not existential.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jofra Archer’s pace should not overwhelm Australian batsmen used to facing 90mph deliveries at home. Photograph: Mitchell Gunn/Shutterstock

The magnitude of losing Smith cannot be understated. After missing nearly 18 months of Test cricket he returned in this series like an avenging demon. He stitched together some batting first up in Birmingham that was especially threadbare, then returned to do the early digging that let others prosper later. At Lord’s another innings was falling away and only he could move it near parity.

Three innings for 378 runs had Smith comfortably pacing Bradman’s 974 from the 1930 series, while England as a team and as a country were fast developing a similar obsession with whether or not he was out. While Smith has made 378 the other 10 batsmen across those innings have made 515.

But foremost in calming any likely Australian nerves will be the corresponding cool that Marnus Labuschagne showed in replacing Smith in the previous Test. Being substituted in to replace one of history’s best batsmen at the peak of his powers is a decent serve of pressure, and being welcomed to the crease by an Archer uppercut to the grille probably supersized that serving.

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Yet undeterred, the very junior player in the squad scoffed the lot, outlasting Archer’s barrage at the cost of a number of bruises but toughing it out to make sure that Australia’s 1-0 scoreline did not suffer any injury. Already in glorious form in the County Championship this season, Labuschagne had that intangible quality of immediately looking like a Test cricketer. His innings of 59 was by far the most composed in the chase, and there will be plenty of confidence that he can repeat the display as part of the starting XI.

“I don’t think I can be disappointed, my job is to work with guys who are playing,” was the Australia captain, Tim Paine’s, take on losing his star batsman. “Obviously they’re huge shoes to fill but it doesn’t just come down to Marnus. It’s up to the whole team to lift their output 5% or 10%, and if we can do that then I think as a group we can cover Steve’s absence and win this Test match.”

If that happens, Australia will retain the Ashes with two Tests to spare. England do not have to win but cannot afford to give another win away. Australia in 2013 had two almost certain wins ruined by rain, and let slip winning positions in two other matches. It doesn’t change a loss that history views as a decisive 3-0. Once play starts, mood and momentum and all the other intangibles don’t matter. What does is creating something concrete on the pitch.