Follow UsDespite being an important fixture of Australia’s Test success, Marnus Labuschagne was left out of Australia’s new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. The 31-year-old was left out of Australia’s squad for the three-match Test series against West Indies but since then, has completely transformed his game.
The Queenslander has been in the in-form batter in Australia’s domestic tournaments, with scores of 130, 2, 160, 105, 159 and 18 across his last six innings across two formats. Labuschagne’s latest outing – 159 – against a strong South Australian outfit could propel him right back in Australia’s squad for the upcoming Ashes.
Stand-in skipper Steve Smith recalled his conversation with Labuschagne, revealing how the Queenslander promised him that he will be back in Australia’s squad for Ashes Down Under.
"He said to me at the start of the summer, 'I'll be in that Test team, come the first Test'. He's backed up his words," Smith said. "I sent him a message a couple of days ago, saying how proud I was of him. He's obviously got dropped from the team and he's just gone back and he's got four hundreds in (six) hits.
"That's a pretty big statement. He's obviously not selected yet, but he's done a lot of things right," Smith said.
On his own preparations, Smith reckoned that ‘getting a couple of hits’ was essential to get him in shape before the five-match Test series against England.
"Honestly, it takes me two hits to get sorted. I feel like I'm ready to go now. There's obviously a balance, but I don't think it takes me much now to get up to game speed and I want to try and stay as mentally fresh. Technically I feel in a good place, it's about being mentally fresh. I'm not hitting as many balls as I used to. It's to try and get the most out of myself mentally when I'm out in the middle and be able to concentrate for long periods of time."
Smith compared this preparation to the yesteryears when he has come into a big series on the back of a lot of practise, which cooked him mentally. Despite that, however, the former Australian skipper managed to rack up runs against India in crucial times, with 314 runs, averaging 34.88.
"I know that when I play a lot at the start, by the end of the summer I'm pretty cooked mentally and probably can't produce the same performances. Last year I was probably batting my best at the back end of the summer against India, coming off not too much cricket at the start," he added.