Marnus makes charge at No.1
MARNUS Labuschagne is on the verge of being crowned the No.1 Test batsman as he relishes the thought of another bouncer barrage on Boxing Day.
Fresh from his first Ashes century, Labuschagne is hunting a maiden hundred at the MCG as the run-making prodigy looks set to eclipse England’s Joe Root as the top ranked batter in the game.
It is an extraordinary achievement and underlines one of the most meteoric rises in the history of Test cricket.
At this point in the 2019 Ashes, he was only into the Australian side as a concussion replacement for Steve Smith. A year before that he had been plucked out of relative obscurity as a Sheffield Shield batsman averaging in the low 30s to make his Test debut against Pakistan in the UAE.
But a couple of years later, Labuschagne has overtaken his mentor Smith in the rankings and the Queenslander could overtake Root to finish the calendar year as the best batter in the world.
England reverted to almost modern-day Bodyline tactics in a bid to unseat him in Adelaide, and with 150km/h enforcer Mark Wood to return to the attack, Australia’s rock solid No.3 has thrown down the gauntlet and welcomed another pace bombardment.
“Yeah, I probably do. Mark Wood obviously didn’t play this game and (I’d expect he would) play at least one of the next two games,” Labuschagne said. “For me, it’s just making sure I’m always trying to read what the game plan is and, in some aspects, the game plan almost worked, in that I had that one I gloved down leg side and Jos (Buttler) dropped it.
“Unfortunately for me, I think it’s a tactic they might use a little bit more depending on if I get out early or if I stay at the crease a little bit longer. That’s not my job to think about, it’s just making sure I’m ready.”
Labuschagne says England did expose him at times with the bumper tactics but he also believed he was able to turn the game plan against the Old Enemy.
“That’s always the catch 22. You can slow the scoring down and it takes out the (chance) of getting wickets and you’re hoping for a mistake,” Labuschagne said. “But obviously that takes time and … energy.”