It’s not that Australia don’t have other options apart from Marnus Labuschagne, but he has a solid reasoning for his case.
Marnus Labuschagne is deeply connected with the concussions, though, not by suffering it. Instead, he has found things going in his favour whenever he has come in as a concussion replacement. His Test career has surged like anything since arriving as a substitute player at Lord’s in Ashes 2019, and a similar blow to Cameron Green in Bloemfontein two and a half weeks back paved the way for the revival of his ODI career.
Labuschagne played a belligerent knock of 80 runs in 93 balls while batting at No. 8 to take Australia home out of nowhere. When he came in, his team was reeling at 72/5, which soon changed to 113/7. But Labuschagne is known to thrive under such circumstances and didn’t miss again.
This knock came in less than 48 hours after Australia announced their World Cup 2023 squad, with Marnus Labuschagne being a notable absentee. His exclusion, somewhat, was justified, as Marnus himself admitted.
“I wasn’t too shocked when I was dropped. I said that to the selectors (that) ‘I understand, I haven’t made runs’,” exclaimed Marnus on his World Cup axe.
Australia’s chairman of selectors George Bailey explains the exclusion of Labuschagne from the ODI World Cup#WC2023 pic.twitter.com/cLdQWJLL08
— CricXtasy (@CricXtasy) August 7, 2023
But destiny works in mysterious ways, more so with Marnus Labuschagne. A ray of light came for him when all the doors were closed. Travis Head, one of the team’s best batters, fractured his hand in the fourth ODI against South Africa, and his participation in the showpiece event seems unfeasible now.
Also Read: ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Schedule, PDF, Date, Time, Teams, Stadiums and Where to Watch LIVE
It’s not that Australia don’t have other options apart from Marnus Labuschagne, but he has a solid reasoning for his case. If anything, the last few matches have only strengthened his case.
In the ODIs since 2022, Marnus Labuschagne has the most runs (723) for Australia at an average of 34.42 and 82.91 strike rate. He also has four half-centuries and a century. At best, these numbers are decent, but Marnus has improved significantly, as the stats this year show.
In nine ODI innings this year, Labuschagne has 392 runs, averaging 49 and striking at 89.09. His strike rate has surged, and a balls-per-boundary ratio of 9.56 depicts he finds the ropes more often now. Note that Marnus has accumulated some hard-earned runs in ODIs in 2023.
In the ongoing series against India, Marnus’ scores are 39 & 27. These might look mediocre to those who haven’t followed the games live. Those who have watched the games know the value of these runs.
Marnus has looked better equipped than most Aussie batters; only David Warner, their leading run-scorer, has looked more comfortable than Labuschagne. Marnus did play a reckless shot in the first game, but he was unlucky to get dismissed. He was going well on 27 in the second rubber before Ashwin outclassed him. But it was a handy contribution.
Ravichandran Ashwin has made life difficult for Marnus Labuschagne in this series, dismissing him in both games. While he was unlucky in the first game, Marnus played the wrong line in the second encounter.
Who will win the battle in the third ODI in Rajkot?🤔#INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/DdAL9U0CXH
— CricXtasy (@CricXtasy) September 25, 2023
These statements are not to prove Labuschagne is the best Australian batter or is in the form of his life; he isn’t even close to that for now. It’s just that Marnus is the best option for Australia, especially given the conditions in the World Cup. He might have been dismissed twice off Ashwin, but Marnus is still among Australia’s best spin players, irrespective of the format.
Another debate is that Marnus’ scoring rate is not up to the modern-day ODI format. But he has worked on it, as mentioned in this year’s ODI stats above. But he can also continue with the same approach and provide valuable services.
For the last year or so, Australia have adopted a gung-ho approach in this format, like several other teams are doing. Their team composition has also been accordingly. From Mitchell Marsh and David Warner to Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green, they all are known for their attacking approach, irrespective of the conditions and the opponents.
With aggression comes risk, and a few Australian matches have shown the drawbacks of ultra-aggressive batting. They bundled for 188 but took only 35.4 overs to reach there in Wankhede earlier this year. Most of their batters played rash shots and barely looked to hang in there and wait for things to ease down.
That’s not their fault; they are in the team for such cricket. Only Steven Smith’s role is to play conservative cricket and weave big knocks with other batters around him playing with fire. But even Smith has shown signs of recklessness lately; his dismissal in the previous game is a case in point.
Moreover, Australia might require another batter to play prudent cricket. ODIs are not the same anymore but still provide more time than the T20s. No matter how much the game develops, there will always be room for traditional batting in this format. The Indian top-order has shown it consistently over the years.
Marnus Labuschagne can also play aggressive cricket; he has those shots against spinners and pacers. The good thing is he has the game awareness. During his match-winning 80 in Bloemfontein, Marnus played positive cricket, hitting the ball in the gaps and finding occasional boundaries to keep the flow.
On a track with demons more than an ideal white-ball cricket pitch, Labuschagne batted with a whopping control of 94%. It was a track with uneven bounce, and the ball zipped through sharply after landing. Marnus struck at 86.02 and hit as many as seven boundaries against the fire-breathing Proteas pacers.
As far as his spin game is concerned, Labuschagne does struggle when it spins more than usual, but he is still a better bet than several others in the squad. It’s also unlikely the surfaces in the World Cup will be rank-turners in all the Australian games. Even if they are, Marnus will still have more chances to thrive than most of his counterparts.
He averages 31.17 and strikes at 97.39 against the tweakers this year in the ODIs. He ranks in the top drawer in both aspects among his teammates. The two dismissals against India must have highlighted the areas to work on, and Marnus is a quick learner.
Travis Head’s hand injury is a massive setback for Australia. But one man’s loss is another man’s gain.
The deadline for the final submission of the World Cup 2023 is September 28. Australia still have a day to announce a replacement player. Marnus Labuschagne has to be in the main squad now; he deserves to be there.
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