The Ashes 2019: History maker Marnus Labuschagne’s perfect preparation for shock call up at Lords

Marnus Labuschagne admitted the shock of being smacked on the helmet by a vicious Jofra Archer delivery actually got him going and provided the impetus for his match-saving knock at Lord’s.

Marnus Labuschagne hit a vital half-century for Australia. Picture: Alastair Grant

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Marnus Labuschagne was facing some ferocious work from Australia’s extra fast bowlers in the nets before the final day at Lord’s when he was told he would be Test cricket’s first concussion substitute.

It proved the perfect preparation for what he faced when he walked to the middle of the famous ground with England firebrand Jofra Archer in the middle of a spell which could have propelled his team to victory.

With his team perched in a perilous position at 2-19, Labuschagne didn’t have to wait long to feel the real heat of his first Ashes battle either as a 145kmh thunderbolt smashed into the grille of his helmet second ball.

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Marnus Labuschagne hit a vital half-century for Australia. Picture: Alastair Grant

It was a moment the 25-year-old South Africa-born Queenslander will never forget, but he shook it off and fought his way to an innings of 57 which was crucial in saving the second Test for Australia.

“It got me flush but it was just ‘get up and get on with it’,” Labuschagne said of his Ashes introduction.

“It got me quite flush in the grille so it took most of the blow. You get up and try and act cool. Then it was just about trying to refocus and make sure you’re watching that ball again. I watched that one pretty close.”

The concussion sub needed his own concussion test after taking the blow, but he shook it off quickly, even answering questions from team doctor Richard Saw before they were asked.

“I was like “look I know where I am, I know what Test it is, I'm on 0 and it was a fast bouncer”,” Labuschagne said.

Coming a day after the blow which felled Smith, one Labuschange said gave him a “bit of a sick feeling”, the shock to the system actually got him going.

“I think what it does do is it makes you on. It means there is no mucking around. You’re watching the ball and you’re trying to work as hard as you can to see that ball as early as you can,” he said.

Labuschagne copped a ball to the grille early on. Picture: Ryan Pierse

“That’s the benefit of facing someone that fast in your sort of first few balls.”

Labuschagne could yet be needed to face more fast balls if Smith isn’t passed fit for Thursday’s third Test at Headingley.

He said he would prepare as if he was playing, because the alternate, even though it may mean Smith was good to go, wasn’t what any player was chasing.

“From my perspective you're just preparing and getting ready to play, because the other alternative is you're just not,” he said.

“When you're batting well, you obviously want to be playing. But winning an Ashes is a squad thing – and obviously it showed the importance of everyone in the squad being ready to play because at any stage of the game you could be called upon.”

Originally published as The Ashes 2019: History maker Marnus Labuschagne’s perfect preparation for shock call up at Lords