The secret to Marnus Labuschagne’s success? Garage cricket with his mates

New Zealand’s attack contains no fire breathing dragons but under grey skies with a moving ball and a relatively lively wicket Marnus Labuschagne drew on his home spun technique to see him through.

Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne put on another half century in tough conditions at the MCG.

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Marnus Labuschagne has a theory that the best games of garage cricket come when bowlers are nigh unplayable and teams of five or so players are all out for scores like 12.

When balls are nipping everywhere off a rolled out mat and five is a good personal score.

These games, which he played as recently as a month or two ago with his mates, are torrid affairs where every delivery is laced with some sort of venom but he wallows in the whole desperate vibe of them.

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The garage games are as far away as you can get from a Boxing Day Test match yet somehow, early on Thursday, for a while they seemed like one and the same and that the former had prepared him for the later.

Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne put on another half century in tough conditions at the MCG.

New Zealand’s attack contains no fire breathing dragons but under grey skies with a moving ball and a relatively lively wicket they are a relentless bunch and he had to work as hard as has had to all summer in a fascinating first session.

He was beaten seven times in his first 43 balls and looked unusually nervous early before his game settled and expanded and he passed 50 for the ninth time in his last 12 Test innings to cement his status as the most improved batsman in the game.

He was looking so set it was a shock to see him bowled for 63 by Colin de Grandhomme with a sharpish lifter that deflected off his elbow onto the stumps.

A bizarre play on to his stumps via an elbow ended Labuschagne’s stay at the crease.

No-one was more shocked than the man himself who on the way back to the pavilion swatted his chewing gum with the sort of vigour that Tiger Woods was showing in these parts a fortnight ago off the tee in the President’s Cup.

After weeks of scrutiny the MCG pitch got through the first day test with a solid pass mark before a wonderful crowd of around 80,000.

The deck was not one for big driving but it had life and early bounce and made for a thoroughly absorbing contest between bat and ball.

Steve Smith is to the MCG in recent years what Rafael Nadal is to the French Open – nigh unstoppable.

For a while he didn’t play the pull shot then when he did it was with control and discretion. He rarely looked totally fluent but never looked overly threatened.

As Mike Hussey said, he bats without ego. If he has to get hit he gets hit. If he has to play a maiden, he drops anchor without second thought.

Curator Matt Page was set the challenge of crafting a deck that was less hostile than the spitting cobra which saw a Sheffield Shield game between Victoria and West Australia abandoned and the pancake flat decks of the last few Tests.

Steve Smith once more made the MCG his own personal playground.

He did well to provide a deck with some early claws without batsmen ever fearing they were on treacherous turf. As the day wore on so did the claws lose their edge.

Australian cricket fans had almost forgotten what the words “lively first session’’ meant so routinely had decks been predictable at the start of play.

This one had enough life to justify New Zealand bowling first but they had to fill their boots early and, with just two first innings wickets, they didn’t quite get there but the stage has been set for a rugged contest.