Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith a partnership made in cricket heaven

Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith formed a partnership of substance at Old Trafford, kindred spirits sharing an obsession. And Labuschagne closed in on a special Ashes record in the process.

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Only Steve Smith has scored more runs for Australia than Marnus Labuschagne this Ashes series and their first ever partnership in Test cricket came right when their country needed it.

The pair are kindred spirits in many ways, cricket nuffies who devour all aspects of the sport and love batting, anywhere, anytime, above all else.

With lashing winds blowing bails off, and sending empty chip packets in to their eyelines, with the lights on and threat of rain ever-present, and Australia 2-28, the pair went to work in Manchester.

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Together they put on 116 crucial runs and Labuschagne, batting at number three in place of the dumped Usman Khawaja, looked as comfortable as Australian selectors could have hoped in making his 67.

Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne share an obsession with the game and a thirst for runs.

It was his fourth consecutive Ashes half-century, in his first four innings versus England. Only Mike Hussey, with five, has done any better.

That the Queenslander got to bat so long with Smith, nearly 33 overs, was the perfect partnership for Australia as the two like-minded cricket thinkers got to work analysing everything that was going on.

Labuschagne has now posted a half century in each of his first four Ashes innings.

Labuschagne, who the day before had enjoyed Smith throwing balls at him for half an hour in the nets, an experience he called “surreal”, couldn’t have asked for a better batting partner.

“We are constantly talking out there about what the bowlers are trying to do and what he’s trying to do,” Labuschagne said.

“We are thinking similar things about where they are trying to get us out. I’m always trying to learn off everyone, learn different things off different people, and be open to that.”

Smith doesn’t like to leave the nets until last, always with his pads on, hoping someone might hang around to throw him a few more balls.

That the master batsman turned thrower for Labuschagne, who has a similar hunger, was a good sign of a burgeoning relationship between two men who could bat together a lot as Australia’s numbers three and four.

The Smith-Labuschagne, 3-4 partnership could prove a productive one for Australia for some time.

“It was a bit surreal really. I had Steve Smith throwing side-arms to me for 30 minutes,” Labuschagne said.

“I love talking to him about the game and learning off him. It was a great experience with a great player. I am just taking it all in as much as I can.”

Despite the trying conditions at Old Trafford, Labuschagne liked his opening innings of 74 in the third Test at Headingley more than his 128-ball effort in Manchester.

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But every one of his 280 runs in his four innings so far, for a brittle batting line-up, has been as good as the other, and Labuschagne knows it’s always how many, not how.

“Today, with the conditions, the wind, it was tough to get used to, to get consistent with your movements, there were so many distractions around the ground,” he said.

“But it doesn’t matter how you get the runs, it’s about the score.”