🔗 Share this article

Marnus methodically applies butter on each surface of a slice of white bread. “That’s the secret,” he tells the camera as he closes the lid of his toastie maker. “Perfect. Then you get it toasted on each side.” He checks inside to reveal a perfectly browned of ideal crispiness, the bubbling cheese happily bubbling away. “Here’s the secret method,” he declares. At which point, he does something shocking and odd.

At this stage, you may feel a sense of disinterest is beginning to appear in your eyes. The alarm bells of overly fancy prose are blinking intensely. You’re probably aware that Labuschagne hit 160 for Queensland this week and is being widely discussed for an Australian Test recall before the Ashes series.

No doubt you’d prefer to read more about cricket matters. But first – you now understand with frustration – you’re going to have to get through three paragraphs of playful digression about toasties, plus an further tangential section of self-referential analysis in the direct address. You feel resigned.

He turns the sandwich on to a serving plate and moves toward the fridge. “It’s uncommon,” he remarks, “but I actually like the grilled sandwich chilled. Boom, in the fridge. You let the cheese firm up, head to practice, come back. Perfect. Sandwich is perfect.”

Back to Cricket

Okay, to cut to the chase. Shall we get the sports aspect out of the way first? Little treat for reading until now. And while there may only be six weeks until the first Test, Labuschagne’s century against the Tigers – his third of the summer in all cricket – feels significantly impactful.

Here’s an Australian top order clearly missing performance and method, revealed against the South African team in the WTC final, highlighted further in the following Caribbean tour. Labuschagne was left out during that tour, but on a certain level you sensed Australia were keen to restore him at the first opportunity. Now he looks to have given them the right opportunity.

Here is a plan that Australia need to work. Usman Khawaja has just one 100 in his past 44 innings. Sam Konstas looks hardly a Test opener and more like the handsome actor who might act as a batsman in a Indian film. None of the alternatives has presented a strong argument. McSweeney looks finished. Another option is still inexplicably hanging around, like unwanted guests. Meanwhile their captain, the pace bowler, is injured and suddenly this feels like a surprisingly weak team, missing authority or balance, the kind of built-in belief that has often put Australia 2-0 up before a game starts.

Labuschagne’s Return

Here comes Labuschagne: a top-ranked Test batsman as recently as 2023, recently omitted from the ODI side, the ideal candidate to bring stability to a shaky team. And we are advised this is a more relaxed and thoughtful Labuschagne now: a pared-down, no-frills Labuschagne, no longer as maniacally obsessed with small details. “I feel like I’ve really cut out extras,” he said after his ton. “Not overthinking, just what I must score runs.”

Of course, few accept this. In all likelihood this is a rebrand that exists only in Labuschagne’s mind: still endlessly adjusting that method from morning to night, going further toward simplicity than anyone has ever dared. Prefer simplicity? Marnus will devote weeks in the practice sessions with trainers and footage, completely transforming into the simplest player that has ever played. That’s the quality of the focused, and the characteristic that has consistently made Labuschagne one of the highly engaging sportsmen in the game.

Wider Context

Maybe before this very open historic rivalry, there is even a kind of pleasing dissonance to Labuschagne’s constant dedication. In England we have a squad for whom technical study, not to mention self-review, is a risky subject. Trust your gut. Be where the ball is. Smell the now.

For Australia you have a player such as Labuschagne, a player terminally obsessed with the game and magnificently unbothered by others’ opinions, who sees cricket even in the gaps in the game, who handles this unusual pursuit with precisely the amount of absurd reverence it requires.

His method paid off. During his focused era – from the instant he appeared to replace a concussed Steve Smith at Lord’s in 2019 to around the end of 2022 – Labuschagne somehow managed to see the game on another level. To reach it – through absolute focus – on a higher, weirder, more frenzied level. During his days playing English county cricket, fellow players saw him on the day of a match positioned on a seat in a focused mindset, mentally rehearsing every single ball of his time at the crease. According to cricket statisticians, during the initial period of his career a surprisingly high proportion of catches were missed when he batted. Somehow Labuschagne had anticipated outcomes before others could react to influence it.

Current Struggles

It’s possible this was why his performance dipped the point he became number one. There were no worlds left to visualise, just a unknown territory before his eyes. Additionally – he lost faith in his cover drive, got stuck in his crease and seemed to misjudge his positioning. But it’s all the same thing. Meanwhile his mentor, Neil D’Costa, thinks a focus on white-ball cricket started to undermine belief in his alignment. Positive development: he’s recently omitted from the ODI side.

Certainly it’s relevant, too, that Labuschagne is a man of deep religious faith, an committed Christian who holds that this is all basically written out in advance, who thus sees his role as one of accessing this state of flow, despite being puzzling it may appear to the ordinary people.

This mindset, to my mind, has always been the primary contrast between him and the other batsman, a more naturally gifted player