Ashes 2021-2022: Marnus Labuschagne is world’s best Test batsman — but not in the top five on Australia’s pay scale
Only Don Bradman and Mike Hussey were quicker to 2000 Test runs than Marnus Labuschagne, but the Test world No.1 needs to improve in other areas to get cashed up.
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Marnus Labuschagne may be the world’s number one Test batsman but he faces a stiff challenge to become one of the top five cricketers on Australia’s contract list.
Australia does not publish the order of the players on its 17-20 man list but Labuschagne is believed to be no higher than number seven despite taking the cricket world by storm with his stunning Test form since the 2019 Ashes.
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Labuschagne has played 21 Tests for 2114 runs at 60.4 and only Don Bradman and Mike Hussey were quicker to 2000 runs.
One of the reasons Labuschagne is so relatively low on the list is the records and form of the men above him.
Test captain Pat Cummins is number one and it is understood others ahead of Labuschagne include seasoned stars Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, David Warner and Steve Smith.
The final ranking is a combination of individual rankings given for Test and white-ball cricket with the Test ranking given more weight.
They also combine an assessment of a player’s performance last season and a prediction of what is expected of him in the new contract year.
Labuschagne has paid the price for not being an experienced white ball player for Australia as he has played just 13 50-over games (for 473 at 39) and no T20 matches.
The rankings are reviewed in March and Labuschagne will be the centre of attention from a batting point of view.
With Australia defending their World T20 title on home shores next summer the white ball ranking takes on extra importance which means Labuschagne may need to raise his white ball profile to forge towards the top of the list.
“We’re fortunate that certainly over this World Cup and this Ashes in particular that there’s been some outstanding individual performances that have obviously led to the team’s success,” said Ben Oliver, the head of CA’s team performance.
“That’s a great problem to have. Marnus has performed exceptionally well and he should be so proud of how he’s emerged in international cricket and that’s something the selectors will work through in forming the contract list at the end of the summer.
“But he’s certainly performed at an exceptionally high level and deserves all the praise he’s getting at the moment.”
The contract ranking system has general support from the players though the curious case of Labuschagne spotlights the occasional scenario where selectors ask themselves whether outstanding prowess in the Test game deserves special recognition whether or not the player is a white ball regular.
Labuschagne has said he hopes to be a regular in all forms of the game for Australia and recently honed his skills in the T20 game in a county stint in England.
Labuschagne’s next batting challenge will be to prove himself on the spin friendly decks of Asia as Australia has tours of Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka looming over the next 18 months.
Australia has not won in India since 2004 and many senior Australian players see that tour as their greatest challenge.
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