Marnus Labuschagne soars on eagle’s wings

Marnus Labuschagne and his idol Steve Smith will torment England for years

Has the bubble burst? Marnus Labuschagne, the 26-year old bubble-gum-blowing Australia batsman from Queensland, was dismissed for a duck in the Sheffield Shield on Sunday. As far as I know, it didn’t elicit the kind of frontpage newspaper headlines that accompanied the dismissal of Donald Bradman in England in 1930 — “He’s out!” — but it ended, or at least brought a minor pause to, a Bradmanesque run of form.

Since the start of Australia’s international summer in late 2019, a year’s worth of batting in first-class cricket in other words, Labuschagne has put together an incredible run of scores: 185, 162 (v Pakistan); 143, 50, 63, 19, 215, 59 (v New Zealand); 26 (v Tasmania in the final Shield game of last season) and 167 and 117 in the opening Shield matches this season. Not including the duck that completed the sequence, that makes an eye-watering 1206 runs at an average of a tick over 109.

Labuschagne’s rapid rise from the basement to the point where he is knocking noisily on the door of the “big four” (Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, Joe Root) demanding entrance, is reminiscent of the startling rise of Smith, the man who has become his great friend and mentor. Labuschagne was derided as a “bits and pieces” cricketer when he first emerged as a candidate for Australia, much as there was chortling when Smith first appeared in an Ashes contest.

The similarities don’t stop there. Labuschagne’s increasingly elaborate mannerisms at the crease, his tics and quirks and his extravagant leaves outside off-stump, are an unashamed imitation of Smith.

“No man was ever made great by imitation,” said Samuel Johnson, although Labuschagne is intent on proving that aphorism wrong. Nor is Labuschagne embarrassed by association, eagerly spending as much time as possible in Smith’s company, picking his brains and emulating the elder man’s obsessive attitude to the game.

Not one gargantuan run-getter, then, but possibly two to deal with in a year’s time, when England head to Australia for the Ashes. Smith, 31, has haunted Root’s captaincy for so long — the England captain has employed more theories than Einstein in attempting to work out the Smith puzzle, all to no avail — he may have to stack up on the Nurofen plus, given the headaches that could arise from Smith and Labuschagne batting in tandem for any length of time.

Is Labuschagne as good as his recent numbers suggest or is he simply in a purple run of form that will inevitably revert to the mean? Will he come back to the pack?

Clearly, maintaining the kind of 12-month run of form that he has enjoyed recently will be impossible, but (sadly from an England viewpoint) I fear Labuschagne is going to be a very good player for a long period of time, a real thorn in England’s side in years to come.

Ironically, he has England to thank for some aspects of his rise to prominence. Like Australian coach Justin Langer, he made early mincemeat of bowlers in the Kent league, breaking Langer’s run-scoring record during a summer for Sandwich Town, but it was the regular diet of first-class cricket with Glamorgan at the start of the summer of 2019 that turned flaky promise into flinty performance.

Glamorgan coach Matthew Maynard told me this week that while they might have taken a flyer on Labuschagne’s run-scoring record — at that stage there was nothing in his numbers to suggest any hint of greatness — they were on rock-solid ground where the young man’s temperament was concerned. They picked on character above all, having taken extensive soundings about Labuschagne’s appetite to learn, his love of the game and desire to improve. They thought they had found another “Mr. Cricket” — the nickname given to Michael Hussey, another fine Australia batsman.

“Above all,” Maynard told me, “he relishes a contest.” That became quickly apparent when Labuschagne replaced Smith as a concussion substitute at Lord’s in last year’s Ashes, taking an immediate blow to the grille from Jofra Archer that floored him.

The speed of the ball was matched only by the speed with which Labuschagne bounced back up and dusted himself off.

In that moment, he told himself that he couldn’t possibly become the first concussion substitute to be substituted for concussion so he puffed out his chest, adjusted his gloves and stared Archer down.

Labuschagne had put down his marker, was ready to put his stamp on the summer, and gave England a forewarning of what is to come when he partnered Smith productively in the middle order for the first time at Old Trafford two games later.

If there is one aspect that differs to Smith, perhaps, it is to be found in Labuschagne’s strong religious faith, which may provide an outlet through which the stress and pressure of run-scoring at the highest level can dissipate.

“International cricket is based on failure,” he once said. “Most players fail more than they succeed. It’s tough. It definitely helps when you have your faith.”

Smith’s obsession often keeps him awake at night; like many who bow to a higher authority, Labuschagne may sleep more easily.

At the bottom of Labuschagne’s bat is the image of an eagle, which reminds him of one of his favourite biblical passages, Isaiah 40:31: “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not grow faint.” For now, Labuschagne is soaring.

Currently, taking a minimum of 20 innings, Labuschagne stands second only to Bradman with a Test average of 63.43. It is impossible to say that he will maintain those standards, there are no sure things in sport, and Labuschagne is only 14 Tests into his career, but I’d wager his form since the Ashes is no flash in the pan and he will be scoring heavily for a long time to come. Not just one headache on the horizon for Root and England’s bowlers, but two.