Australia’s Labuschagne plans to widen his options

Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne wants to enhance his powerhitting ability in one-day internationals as he seeks to establish himself as an all-format player, the 25-year-old says.

Labuschagne has been a revelation in Test cricket since stepping up as Steve Smith’s concussion substitute at Lord’s in the 2019 Ashes series.

In subsequent series against Pakistan and New Zealand, the right-hander smashed four centuries in five Tests, including a maiden double hundred in Sydney earlier in 2020.

The SA-born batsman made his one-day debut in India in 2020 and smashed his maiden century in this format against the country of his birth in March.

“There’s heaps to improve on, that’s for sure,” the top-order batsman said in a video conference. “Personally, in one-day cricket, an area I want to continue to get better at is that later stages in the innings, the boundary options at the back end of a one-day game.

“Batting at four in that oneday line-up, that’s definitely something I’m going to need to continue to improve at.”

Australia’s chair of selectors, Trevor Hohns, has said they do not want to “overburden” Labuschagne at this stage with another format but the batsman harbours Twenty20 dreams.

“By no means do I want to limit myself to those two formats, I definitely have the ambition to play T20 cricket for Australia,” Labuschagne said.

“It doesn’t look like there might be too many other opportunities but, for me, it’s about scoring runs in one-day and Test cricket and if I get opportunities down the road then make sure I take them.”

4 is the number of centuries Marnus Labuschagne scored in five Tests