Why Marnus Labuschagne’s teammates call him ‘Breakfast Burrito’
Marnus Labuschagne cops plenty of ribbing from his Queensland teammates about a bathroom moment but he has their respect too after his breakout series during the Ashes and they’ve noticed a big difference since his return.
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It is the nickname that Marnus Labuschagne would love to flush.
But for as long as his Queensland mates are around the calls of “Breakfast Burrito” will keep lobbing Labuschagne’s way.
And it isn’t pretty.
“(Labuschagne) has been known at one point in time to have been sitting on the toilet and having a breakfast burrito at the same time,” towering teammate Billy Stanlake told the Herald Sun.
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“He cops a bit of stick, Marnus, every team he goes into. It’s quite funny. We call him ‘Breakfast Burrito’ sometimes … yeah, a breakfast burrito on the toilet.”
Fortunately for Labuschagne, it is the runs he is making on the field that has the cricket world talking.
Labuschagne started the Ashes as a spare and finished with a firm grip on the No.3 position that Usman Khawaja has held for the bulk of the past decade.
Labuschagne, 25, was almost batting as a quasi-opener, too, called to the crease inside the first six overs in five out of his seven Ashes innings.
And when the player who got his chance courtesy of Steve Smith’s concussion at Lord’s returned from England, Stanlake noticed a “big difference” from last summer.
“It doesn’t surprise me that he’s doing so well now,” the 204cm fast bowler said.
“Over the years we’ve had some great one-on-one net sessions. We get really competitive with each other and have had some high-standard sessions.
“He’s just hard to get out. That’s a trait that doesn’t come by too often, he’s very hard to get out.
“We’ll have training sessions where we’re going absolutely full tilt and I’m trying my best and bowling pretty well to him for 30-40 minutes and he might not score a lot of runs, but geez, I cannot get him out.”
“It’s just that mindset of his that he doesn’t play too many rash shots and he seems very confident in the stroke play that he’s making. He’s in a different world at the moment.
“I think it was just a matter of time – but to make the leap that he has so quickly has been surprising.”
Stanlake said Labuschagne’s reputation as a “massive cricket nuffie” was indisputable.
“Marnus goes home and plays in his garage,” Stanlake said.
“He does, no joke. He’ll go home from training and you’ll see on Instagram he’s playing in his garage with his mates.
“It’s like, ‘Mate, don’t you play enough cricket?’”
Originally published as Why Marnus Labuschagne’s teammates call him ‘Breakfast Burrito’