🔗 Share this article

Marnus methodically applies butter on both sides of a slice of white bread. “That’s the secret,” he tells the camera as he lowers the lid of his sandwich grill. “There you go. Then you get it toasted on the outside.” He lifts the lid to reveal a perfectly browned of delicious perfection, the gooey cheese happily sizzling within. “Here’s the secret method,” he announces. At which point, he does something horrific and unspeakable.

Already, it’s clear a layer of boredom is beginning to appear in your eyes. The red lights of elaborate writing are going off. You’re likely conscious that Labuschagne made 160 runs for his state team this week and is being widely discussed for an Australian Test recall before the Ashes.

No doubt you’d prefer to read more about cricket matters. But first – you now grasp with irritation – you’re going to have to endure a section of playful digression about toasties, plus an further tangential section of self-referential analysis in the direct address. You sigh again.

He turns the sandwich on to a serving plate and moves toward the fridge. “Few try this,” he announces, “but I genuinely enjoy the cold toastie. There, in the fridge. You allow the cheese to set, head to practice, come back. Boom. It’s ideal.”

The Cricket Context

Look, let’s try it like this. How about we cover the match details to begin with? Little treat for making it this far. And while there may be just six weeks until the series opener, Labuschagne’s century against the Tigers – his third of the summer in all formats – feels quietly decisive.

This is an Australia top three clearly missing consistency and technique, revealed against the Proteas in the WTC final, exposed again in the West Indies after that. Labuschagne was omitted during that tour, but on some level you sensed Australia were eager to bring him back at the earliest chance. Now he appears to have given them the right opportunity.

This represents a approach the team should follow. Usman Khawaja has one century in his last 44 knocks. Konstas looks not quite a first-innings batsman and more like the handsome actor who might play a Test opener in a Bollywood epic. None of the alternatives has made a cogent case. Nathan McSweeney looks cooked. Marcus Harris is still inexplicably hanging around, like dust or mold. Meanwhile their skipper, Pat Cummins, is hurt and suddenly this seems like a surprisingly weak team, lacking strength or equilibrium, the kind of natural confidence that has often helped Australia dominate before a match begins.

Labuschagne’s Return

Enter Marnus: a world No 1 Test batter as recently as 2023, just left out from the ODI side, the ideal candidate to bring stability to a shaky team. And we are informed this is a more relaxed and thoughtful Labuschagne currently: a pared-down, no-frills Labuschagne, no longer as extremely focused with minor adjustments. “It seems I’ve really cut out extras,” he said after his century. “Not overthinking, just what I should score runs.”

Of course, few accept this. Probably this is a new approach that exists only in Labuschagne’s mind: still furiously stripping down that method from morning to night, going more back to basics than anyone else would try. Like basic approach? Marnus will spend months in the nets with coaches and video clips, exhaustively remoulding himself into the simplest player that has ever been seen. This is simply the trait of the obsessed, and the trait that has long made Labuschagne one of the most wildly absorbing sportsmen in the game.

The Broader Picture

It could be before this inscrutably unpredictable England-Australia contest, there is even a type of pleasing dissonance to Labuschagne’s constant dedication. On England’s side we have a squad for whom any kind of analysis, let alone self-analysis, is a kind of dangerous taboo. Feel the flavours. Focus on the present. Live in the instant.

On the opposite side you have a individual like Labuschagne, a individual completely dedicated with the game and totally indifferent by others’ opinions, who observes cricket even in the spaces between the cricket, who handles this unusual pursuit with just the right measure of quirky respect it requires.

His method paid off. During his intense period – from the instant he appeared to replace a concussed Steve Smith at Lord’s Cricket Ground in 2019 to until late 2022 – Labuschagne somehow managed to see the game on another level. To access it – through absolute focus – on a different, unusual, intense plane. During his days playing Kent league cricket, teammates would find him on the day of a match positioned on a seat in a trance-like state, actually imagining each delivery of his innings. Per the analytics firm, during the first few years of his career a surprisingly high catches were spilled from his batting. Remarkably Labuschagne had anticipated outcomes before others could react to affect it.

Current Struggles

Maybe this was why his form started to decline the moment he reached the summit. There were no worlds left to visualise, just a boundless, uncharted void before his eyes. Additionally – he stopped trusting his signature shot, got trapped on the crease and seemed to forget where his off-stump was. But it’s connected really. Meanwhile his mentor, Neil D’Costa, believes a emphasis on limited-overs started to weaken assurance in his alignment. Encouragingly: he’s now excluded from the one-day team.

Certainly it’s relevant, too, that Labuschagne is a man of deep religious faith, an evangelical Christian who holds that this is all basically written out in advance, who thus sees his task as one of achieving this peak performance, no matter how mysterious it may appear to the ordinary people.

This mindset, to my mind, has long been the main point of difference between him and the other batsman, a inherently talented player