Marnus Labuschagne is Australia’s most prolific scorer at this ODI World Cup so why is his role being questioned?

Despite Marnus Labushagne being Australia’s most prolific run scorer so far at this World Cup, his place in the side remains at risk with the likely return of Travis Head.

Marnus Labuschagne’s spot in this Australian one-day team is a bit like that illusion where depending on the way you look at the picture you see either a rabbit or a duck.

Do you see a Test match player jammed into a format of the game to which he is not suited and therefore holding his side back? Or do you see a rock-solid player that Australia desperately needs to anchor its push for a World Cup semi-final spot?

The Queenslander is an outlier in so many respects through the early stages of this tournament. He’s scored comfortably the most runs of any Australian player so far (113) but is striking at just 64.57. He has just six boundaries and no sixes from 175 balls faced.

Marnus Labuschagne after being dismissed against Sri Lanka. Picture: Arun SANKAR / AFP

Of the 25 players to have faced 100 balls in the World Cup as of Tuesday, none is scoring more slowly than Labuschagne. His closest rival in the tortoise stakes is Afghanistan’s Hashmatullah Shahidi (69.13).

This deserves context though, because Labuschagne’s innings have been situational. While Labuschagne and Steve Smith got bogged down against India’s spinners in Chennai, Australia couldn’t even bat out its overs once they both departed. It is not as though more aggressive batters were being denied time in the middle because of Labuschagne soaking up balls.

The same can be said of his 46 against South Africa in Australia’s heavy defeat at the Ekana Stadium last Thursday night. Most of the innings was played with the match already out of reach, leaving Labuschagne and Mitchell Starc to chip away at the margin in a bid to mitigate the net run rate damage.

Monday night in Lucknow was another case altogether. Indeed it was one tailor-made for Labuschagne. Set a modest 210 to win after David Warner’s desperate and inspired outfielding triggered a Sri Lankan collapse, Labuschagne arrived at 2-24 with Warner and Smith having fallen in the same over to seamer Dilshan Madushanka, who had the new ball jolting.

Labuschagne was involved in two key partnerships. The first with Mitch Marsh consolidated a shaky situation for Australia, while the second with Josh Inglis heaved the Aussies clearly into the ascendancy.

In both stands Labuschagne played an auxiliary role, as Marsh bludgeoned and Inglis swatted Australia towards the finish line. By the time Labuschagne picked out mid-wicket for 40, his side was within 52 of its first win of the campaign. Other than an overturned DRS call on nought where technology clearly showed no tickle of the bat, he never really looked like going out until he did.

Marnus Labuschagne played an auxiliary role in his partnership with Josh Inglis. Picture: Arun SANKAR / AFP

There is no way of knowing for sure if Australia would have won this game without Labuschagne’s resistance. But his stabilising influence seemed to allow an underperforming middle order to bat with freedom. And if Australia finds itself in a similar spot again, it will have confidence that Labuschagne can do this sort of job again.

The tricky bit however is that Travis Head’s return from a hand fracture is imminent. Head’s up-tempo shot-making and handy off-spin makes him an automatic selection. So where does that leave Labuschagne, who was not in Australia’s World Cup plans until Head got injured last month in South Africa?

Given Smith, Warner and Glenn Maxwell are all locks, Labuschagne’s best chance of holding his spot may be at the expense of Marcus Stoinis, who is barely being bowled given how much Maxwell is being used and could be used even less once Head return.

But Stoinis, though largely underwhelming in one-day cricket with the bat over the years, has the type of Twenty20 refined gears that Labuschagne lacks. An enormous six over long-on to finish the game underscored as much.

It is a philosophical discussion. Is fire or ice more likely to win Australia a World Cup against the odds?

Of course it could all be a moot point. If Australia can’t beat Pakistan in Banglaore on Friday, then the chances of the side being alive come the pointy end of the competition are slim.