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Labuschagne methodically applies butter on the top and bottom of a slice of plain bread. “That’s the secret,” he states as he lowers the lid of his toastie maker. “Boom. Then you get it golden on the outside.” He opens the grill to reveal a toasted delight of delicious perfection, the melted cheese happily sizzling within. “Here’s the secret method,” he explains. At which point, he does something unexpected and strange.

At this stage, you may feel a sense of disinterest is beginning to cover your eyes. The warning signs of sportswriting pretension are going off. You’re likely conscious that Labuschagne hit 160 for Queensland this week and is being widely discussed for an return to the Test side before the Ashes.

You probably want to read more about cricket matters. But first – you now realise with an anguished sigh – you’re going to have to endure several lines of wobbling whimsy about toasties, plus an extra unwanted bonus paragraph of overly analytical commentary in the direct address. You feel resigned.

Labuschagne flips the sandwich on to a serving plate and walks across the fridge. “Few try this,” he remarks, “but I personally prefer the grilled sandwich chilled. Boom, in the fridge. You let the cheese firm up, go bat, come back. Alright. Toastie’s ready to go.”

The Cricket Context

Alright, to cut to the chase. Let’s address the match details initially? Little treat for making it this far. And while there may be just six weeks until the first Test, Labuschagne’s century against the Tigers – his third of the summer in all formats – feels significantly impactful.

Here’s an Aussie opening batsmen clearly missing consistency and technique, revealed against the Proteas in the World Test Championship final, shown up once more in the Caribbean afterwards. Labuschagne was dropped during that series, but on one hand you gathered Australia were keen to restore him at the soonest moment. Now he appears to have given them the perfect excuse.

This represents a plan that Australia need to work. The opener has just one 100 in his recent 44 batting efforts. Konstas looks less like a Test opener and closer to the good-looking star who might act as a batsman in a Bollywood movie. None of the alternatives has made a cogent case. One contender looks cooked. Another option is still inexplicably hanging around, like unwanted guests. Meanwhile their captain, Pat Cummins, is injured and suddenly this appears as a unusually thin squad, short of command or stability, the kind of effortless self-assurance that has often put Australia 2-0 up before a game starts.

Labuschagne’s Return

Enter Marnus: a leading Test player as recently as 2023, just left out from the 50-over squad, the right person to return structure to a shaky team. And we are told this is a calmer and more meditative Labuschagne now: a simplified, no-frills Labuschagne, less intensely fixated with small details. “It seems I’ve really simplified things,” he said after his century. “Not really too technical, just what I need to make runs.”

Clearly, this is doubted. In all likelihood this is a fresh image that exists only in Labuschagne’s personal view: still constantly refining that approach from dawn to dusk, going further toward simplicity than any player has attempted. You want less technical? Marnus will devote weeks in the training with coaches and video clips, completely transforming into the simplest player that has ever played. This is just the trait of the obsessed, and the quality that has always made Labuschagne one of the most wildly absorbing cricketers in the game.

Bigger Scene

Perhaps before this very open England-Australia contest, there is even a type of interesting contrast to Labuschagne’s constant dedication. For England we have a squad for whom any kind of analysis, let alone self-analysis, is a risky subject. Feel the flavours. Stay in the moment. Live in the instant.

On the opposite side you have a batsman like Labuschagne, a individual utterly absorbed with the game and magnificently unbothered by who knows about it, who observes cricket even in the gaps in the game, who treats this absurd sport with precisely the amount of odd devotion it deserves.

This approach succeeded. During his shamanic phase – from the instant he appeared to replace a concussed Steve Smith at Lord’s in 2019 to until late 2022 – Labuschagne found a way to see the game with greater insight. To access it – through absolute focus – on a different, unusual, intense plane. During his time with Kent league cricket, teammates would find him on the game day resting on a bench in a focused mindset, actually imagining every single ball of his innings. As per cricket statisticians, during the early stages of his career a statistically unfathomable proportion of catches were missed when he batted. Somehow Labuschagne had predicted events before anyone had a chance to change it.

Recent Challenges

Perhaps this was why his performance dipped the point he became number one. There were no worlds left to visualise, just a unknown territory before his eyes. Additionally – he began doubting his signature shot, got unable to move forward and seemed to lose awareness of his stumps. But it’s connected really. Meanwhile his mentor, D’Costa, believes a emphasis on limited-overs started to undermine belief in his alignment. Encouragingly: he’s now excluded from the one-day team.

Surely it matters, too, that Labuschagne is a man of deep religious faith, an religious believer who holds that this is all predetermined, who thus sees his task as one of achieving this peak performance, despite being puzzling it may look to the ordinary people.

This approach, to my mind, has long been the main point of difference between him and the other batsman, a more naturally gifted player