BENGALURU: Marnus Labuschagne was not even an automatic choice as a concussion substitute for Steve Smith during the third Ashes Test match last year. It was a toss-up between Mitchell Marsh and the then 25-year-old, but an impressive display against Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson in the nets tilted things in Labuschagne’s favour. It proved to be one of the most pivotal moments in the batsman’s career.
Ever since, Labuschagne, who scored 59 as a substitute in that Test, has gone on to establish himself as a top-notch cricketer. His numbers have been impressive in red-ball cricket, scoring runs at a Bradmanesque rate (current average is 63.43). He has scored seven half-centuries and four tons in 14 innings and those tons came against New Zealand and Pakistan.
It is unfortunate that the pandemic brought things to a standstill when Labuschagne was in the middle of a purple patch. But he has not lost that longer format touch as was witnessed in the Sheffield Shield matches for Queensland in October and November, where he hit two centuries in three matches.
Such has been his batting prowess in the last 16-18 months that the right-hander, who has made number three his own, will be one of the prized scalps for India in the Test series, starting December 17. The batsman believes that consistency has been brought about by his increased levels of confidence. “A lot of it is to do with confidence, trust and the belief in yourself,” said the South African-born player in a virtual conference on Monday.
“There were a few technical things, which I changed earlier, probably about 18 months ago. That has really helped my game. From there on, it has been working. You cannot be satisfied with where you are… it has been nice to score runs consistently for 18 months. But, it is about continuing to get better, making sure that I play my part in helping Australia win games.”
Despite having impressed big time in the longer format, he is a work in progress when it comes to limited-overs cricket. However, he showed his whole range of shots and his ability to play according to the situation in the second ODI, scoring a 61-ball 70. “I think my role at No 4 is just to read the situation of the game and play my role accordingly.”
Coming to the longer format, some of the top Australian players, including Labuschagne, Starc and Tim Paine among others have already featured in first-class domestic season. Labuschagne believes the Indian players will adjust quickly, but he gauges a slight advantage.
"It definitely helps to have a few games under your belt just to get the pace and the timing of the game from T20s to one-dayers to four-day cricket," he said. “It’s a slight advantage that four out of our top six have been playing Shield cricket."
Labuschagne ready to open
With David Warner’s groin injury ruling him out for the short-term, Labuschagne is willing to open the innings in the third ODI. “If asked to open, absolutely. It's an opportunity that I would enjoy doing. But we'll have to wait and see how the team shapes up for the next game.”