What does it take to be Australia’s best Test player?
Brisbane’s Marnus Labuschagne had a meteoric rise to be named Australia’s best Test Player earlier this year. What drives this man eagerly waiting for play resume?
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Marnus Labuschagne sits on a chair within a glass-walled viewing room of Brisbane’s Gabba.
Cricket’s newest superstar – this 25-year-old batting revelation, this most astonishingly improved player who has legends of the sport gushing praise, this wonder kid from Brisbane’s bayside – is visibly twitchy. And, probably, it is fair enough.
He has been trapped in this room of the Brisbane Cricket Ground, overlooking the field where he made his dream-come-true maiden Test century before a home crowd, longer than he is obviously comfortable.
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Labuschagne doesn’t like to just stop and relax, to be idle. It goes against his nature to be caged like this, to sit at a table. His body craves activity – to be bowling or batting or catching or running or playing another sport like golf or touch football or anything.
And so, in this room, his body shifts and adjusts against his chair, he looks at his watch, he drinks his coffee, he stretches his legs, he wriggles like a captured puppy.
This past season of Australian cricket has been dubbed “the summer of Marnus’’.
Within months, Labuschagne surged from Australian Ashes team reserve to batting superstar. He was catapulted into last year’s Ashes batting order as the first ever concussion substitute when Australian captain Steve Smith was struck in the neck by a short ball during the second Test match at Lord’s between England and Australia in August 2019.
Labuschagne didn’t waste his chance, scoring 59 off 100 balls.
The Australian summer season would bring him four Test centuries including an epic double century at the Sydney Cricket Ground against New Zealand, which commentators called an “exclamation mark on one of the great summers of Australian cricket’’.
Last month, he hit his maiden one-day international century against South Africa in the third match of the series (bouncing back from a golden duck in the second ODI).
A “clean skin” Labuschagne, untainted by the ball tampering “sandpapergate” scandal of 2018, has even been credited with bringing the fun back into the Australian cricket team with his infectious and pure enthusiasm for the game.
Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who watched Labuschagne bat as the concussion sub at Lord’s, praised him (“this player looks special’’), while Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli has said he is a “complete team man’’. Speaking after Labuschagne’s debut ODI series in India in January, Kohli says he can be one of the world’s best batters, with his energetic manner “like a bunny running around”.
Labuschagne capped his remarkable summer when he was crowned Australian Test Player of the Year in Melbourne in February.
It may seem a whirlwind rise to the top but Labuschagne has had his eye on the prize for quite some time.
Born in Klerksdorp in South Africa, a gold mining city in the country’s North West Province, Labuschagne moved to Australia in 2003 with his family – dad Andre, 52, mum Alta, 51, a home economics teacher, and younger sister Ame, 22 – for Andre’s work in the mining industry. Initially the move was to be for three years but the family ended up staying. (Andre is now executive chairman of copper mining company Aeris Resources).
In South Africa, Labuschagne says he “fell in love with cricket from such a young age’’, playing from age three and “properly’’ in a team since age six. As a little kid he remembers watching international cricket matches on television while wearing his pads, gloves and helmet, then running outside during any breaks to hit cricket balls against a wall.
Labuschagne attended an Afrikaans-speaking school where English was taught as a second language from year four. But his move to Australia saw him leave grade three and move straight to grade five at Cleveland State School where he admits the language barrier was initially a struggle.
But thanks to the universal language of sport, Labuschagne fitted right in socially and was playing junior club cricket for Cleveland Thornlands just days after arriving in Australia.
The Labuschagnes embraced their new life, happily anglicising the pronunciation of their surname – from La-boo-skuk-nee in Afrikaans to La-boo-shane in Australia (or Loose-Bus-Change) – to fit in.
A young Labuschagne grew up admiring a swag of great cricketers. In South Africa, there was the great all-rounder Jacques Kallis, fielding legend Jonty Rhodes and bowling star Shaun Pollock. In Australia, it was the era of batsmen Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, later Michael Clarke, and the bowling attacks of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee.
His “ultimate player’’ was a mix of Ricky Ponting as batsman, Shane Warne as bowler and Andrew Symonds as fielder.
The dream of wearing the Australian baggy green crystallised for Labuschagne when he was about 14.
There was never a Plan B, just Plan A. He admits he didn’t try as hard as he could with schoolwork (at Brisbane State High) because he was so confident that he was going to play cricket professionally.
“I grew up supporting South Africa and then when that changed around age 14, the reality was that I wanted to play for Australia,’’ Labuschagne says.
“That was my goal, that was my dream. I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to wear the baggy green.
“That real passion and drive for cricket has always been there. I never had to find that love to train or to do hard work or wake up early because I always loved it. It’s not a chore, it’s not a job, it’s something I love doing,” he says. “Plan A was going to work so why did I need a plan B? I knew what I wanted to do, there were no doubts. I was never unsure I would play cricket.’’
Leigh Drennan’s first impression of Labuschagne is how bloody annoying he was.
Drennan, 29, captain of Labuschagne’s first grade club team, Redlands Tigers, and physical education teacher at Cleveland District State High School, first crossed paths with a 15-year-old Labuschagne when they played one season in the same fifth grade team for the club.
Drennan, a few years his senior, was coming back from a knee injury by playing in the lower grades, while Labuschagne was a junior player promoted to grade cricket.
“He was really young and very annoying as well,’’ Drennan says.
“He was so small and he couldn’t really hit the ball anywhere but, technically, he looked
really good.
“A couple of years later, I’d moved clubs [to Valleys] and I played against him when Marnus was making his first-grade debut. Every single person on our team hated him with a passion.
“He was the most chirpy character. He was really self-confident, really happy with himself and he had a huge amount of belief in his own ability. He was the type of guy to say something after every ball. He was never quiet – from the first ball of the day to the end of the 96th over.
“He would show just as much enthusiasm from ball one to the end of the game. He was like an Energizer bunny. He was always up and happy.
“I remember, at the end of the day, our whole team was saying, ‘That kid is so annoying!’ But we were also kind of impressed that he could do that for an entire day.
“It was probably the moment I realised there’s something about his guy that makes him pretty special.’’
The pair have become good friends with Drennan taking on master of ceremonies duties at Labuschagne’s 2017 wedding at Redland’s Sirromet Winery to his childhood sweetheart Rebekah Gillam, 23.
The catalyst for their friendship, however, was not cricket, it was attending the same Cleveland Baptist church.
“I’d played against Marnus in cricket and known that he was very annoying, hard to play against and such a fierce competitor,’’ Drennan says. “But to get to know him outside of cricket, he is such a legend … he is someone who will do anything for you and gets a real kick out of helping people.
“He is truly the most authentic character I’ve ever met. That was the real catalyst for our friendship. We started going to the [cricket] nets together and challenging each other to table tennis battles.”
Labuschagne has a reputation for his competitiveness – on and off the cricket pitch – and for being able to make a game out of any situation. There’s garage cricket (played on a rubber mat with a taped-up tennis ball out of his garage in wet weather), catching contests, from skimming balls off boogie boards at the beach, even corn cricket (catching bits of corn while cutting vegetables). But whatever game he invents, it must be as difficult as possible and it must be fun.
“There’s not often that we would be hanging out together without some form of game being played,’’ Drennan says. “He even gets competitive about playing chess. He hates losing with a passion. When he was younger you wouldn’t look forward to beating him because there would be such a blow up.
“He probably wasn’t as bad with the team losing but certainly if he didn’t get any runs, he could go missing for upwards of an hour. He just loved batting. It’s genuinely his happy place.’’
With his cricketing teammates now in training isolation due to COVID-19, Labuschagne has had no trouble being creative when it comes to staying fit. Queensland and Cricket Australia-contracted players usually have annual leave during April and May and Labuschagne had planned to return to play county cricket in the UK for Glamorgan.
Instead, he is busy at home with endless games of garage cricket (with two other friends who are living with him) and spending hours on his local tennis court (“I think I played tennis for seven or eight days in a row,” he says.)
He also has a home gym and a program from Queensland Cricket to follow.
Drennan says it’s his devotion to his friends and family that makes Labuschagne so endearing. “He pays real attention to how I’m going and our other mate [and Redlands teammate] James [Bazley, 24]. He rings and wants to know how a [Redlands] game has gone and how we bowled. He wants to chat about it.
“There have been times when his Australian career was kicking off – he’d be in England about to play a Test match – and we’d be so excited to ask him anything about what it’s like to play for Australia and we can’t get him off the topic of Redlands.’’
Labuschagne’s mentor and coach of seven years Neil D’Costa, says his charge “brings joy to any room’’. Sydney-based D’Costa, 49, who has also nurtured the talents of former Australian captain Michael Clarke, fast bowler Mitchell Starc, and the late batsman Phillip Hughes, says Labuschagne has an infectious love of cricket.
“Marnus is very happy with his life, he brings joy to any room,’’ D’Costa says.
“His zaniness, his quirkiness, he’s funny. Marnus plays hallway cricket with the same passion he plays Test cricket. Whatever he does, he wants to have fun with it and challenge himself and he always wants to beat you.
“The Australian cricket team seems to be having more fun too. The team has come through a very difficult period … when this happens often we forget it is a game and it’s supposed to be enjoyable and fun.
“Marnus, who is from a new era, can bring that with his ‘enjoy it’ attitude.’’
D’Costa, a notoriously hard task master, is somewhat bemused by questions of Labuschagne’s seemingly rapid rise to the top of his game.
“People are seeing the results … I liken what I do to building a car. When you roll the car out everyone looks at it and they can’t believe it. But the hard work has been going on,’’ he says.
“I remember someone said to Michael Clarke that he had burst onto the scene very quickly. He famously said, ‘not in my eyes, I’ve been trying to get here since I was nine’.
It’s the same for Marnus,” D’Costa says. “There have been days when I would go off on a rant about how he got out. Saying, ‘I can’t believe it! How could you be so stupid? We did everything right and then when you got to the dance floor, you couldn’t dance. What was wrong?’
“I was always yelling at him because, in my eyes, he was underperforming. I was constantly pushing him. And it’s still going on. He got out first ball the other day [his golden duck in South Africa]. And, no, I can’t repeat what I said.’’
D’Costa believes a large part of Labuschagne’s success is thanks to his strong religious faith and a “rock solid” support group from family, friends and church.
His marriage to Rebekah, he says, has been “the last piece of the puzzle’’.
“I couldn’t wait for Marnus to get married because I could see that was going to be fantastic for him,’’ D’Costa says.
“When you are an athlete, you are quite self focused but being married helped Marnus realise he has a responsibility to someone else too. And I think it made him an even better team player.
“He is a very balanced young man and I believe his marriage has been the key to the last piece of the puzzle. It has given them both great joy.’’
Labuschagne met Brisbane-born Rebekah, a nurse at the Wesley Hospital, when she was just 14. Growing up in the same area, he played touch footy with Rebekah’s brother, while she was friends with his sister.
They both mixed in the same church youth group circles and started dating as Rebekah turned 17. They have been together ever since. Their honeymoon was a three-week trip to South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia – Rebekah’s first trip to Africa. She returned recently to see Labuschagne play for Australia for the first time in front of his South African family members.
Rebekah admits she has had a “big cricketing education” since they have been together.
She has also learned to entertain her husband by simply hitting tennis balls to him at the beach while he takes diving catches in the sand or water. It’s a legacy from his childhood when his dad would do the same for hours at a time.
“Prior to Marnus, I didn’t have much interest in the sport and my knowledge of it was just when it was on in the background,” she says.
“Marnus has always lived and breathed the game and his passion is addictive. Now, I really enjoy watching the game. My family have become some of Marnus’ biggest supporters and they never miss a chance to watch him play.”
Rebekah describes her husband as an extrovert who is “the life of the party’’ as well as fiercely competitive, passionate, genuine, loyal, hard working and humble.
“He has always been talented, determined and very resilient and I have never doubted that Marnus could achieve his dreams as he is one of the hardest workers I know,” she says.
“He has always had a strong sense of self-belief. I know that he always makes the most of the opportunities presented and hasn’t taken them for granted.”
Faith in God is a major part of Labuschagne’s life, keeping him “grounded and focused’’.
At age 17, he decided to be baptised again and his cricket bat bears the inscription “Isaiah 40:31” as a reminder, he says, that “God is with you”.
The bible verse was given to him in a birthday card by James Bazley. The entire verse is: But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. “James gave me this scripture in a birthday card with a little eagle. It was really meaningful,” Labuschagne says.
“My brother-in-law and I came up with the idea to create an eagle sticker with the verse, Isaiah 40:31, to put on my bat, just as a reminder that it doesn’t matter what situation you are going through, that God is with you. When you are struggling in different times, even when it’s going well, it’s a reminder where your strength comes from. It’s a gift and to use it wisely.”
Labuschagne’s faith in his cricketing ability has been tested more than once, with him emphasising that “it hasn’t always been like this”. Several times he has been dropped from Queensland and Australian teams.
“There’s been plenty of learning,” he says.
“Getting dropped is a character test. It teaches you that hunger you need to continue to success. If you don’t take it like that, it’s very hard to then grow from that. When people tell you that you are probably not good enough and that you are going to fail, those are the times you learn what you are really made of. That drives the motivation to be more successful.
“That competitiveness and hunger to be better – it’s just a part of who I am.”
For the past six years Labuschagne has also run a coaching academy, the Labuschagne Cricket Academy (LCA), a role he says he loves.
“I love seeing kids that I’ve coached succeed. I’ve got two of them who have just played in the Queensland under 17s, five who are playing in first grade for Redlands. It’s nice to keep in touch with them over a long period of time,” he says. “My best advice for young kids is not to put too much pressure on yourself when you are coming through the age groups. It doesn’t matter if you are succeeding, the love of the game shouldn’t change. Team success is the most important.
“One of my downfalls as a child, was that I was not a great loser. That’s something I had to learn along the way. I was never good at getting out. There were plenty of tears when I was younger.’’ Labuschagne is now often noted for his “perfect” technique. But his focus on being “too perfect” was his Achilles Heel.
“I tried to be the perfect batter, to be too perfect,” he says. “Probably only in the past 18 months have I been able to turn that into becoming more of a run scorer than a perfect batter. I’ve thought less about technique in the past 18 months than I have over my cricket career. Ironically, now that I’ve stopped thinking about technique, everyone is saying you have the perfect technique.”
At this interview’s end, Labuschagne jumps up, released from this confining room at last. He’s “not a great relaxer”, he admits. He swings on his backpack and he’s at the door, polite and obliging, but glad to be on to the next thing all the same. ■
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