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Labuschagne methodically applies butter on each surface of a slice of soft bread. “That’s the key,” he explains as he closes the lid of his grilled cheese press. “Perfect. Then you get it crisp on the outside.” He checks inside to reveal a toasted delight of pure toasted goodness, the melted cheese happily sizzling within. “And that’s the trick of the trade,” he announces. At which point, he does something unexpected and strange.

At this stage, it’s clear a glaze of ennui is beginning to appear in your eyes. The alarm bells of elaborate writing are going off. You’re likely conscious that Labuschagne made 160 runs for Queensland Bulls this week and is being widely discussed for an national team comeback before the England-Australia contest.

No doubt you’d prefer to read more about his performance. But first – you now realise with an anguished sigh – you’re going to have to sit through three paragraphs of light-hearted musing about grilled cheese, plus an further tangential section of overly analytical commentary in the “you” perspective. You groan once more.

He turns the sandwich on to a serving plate and moves toward the fridge. “It’s uncommon,” he remarks, “but I genuinely enjoy the toastie cold. Done, in the fridge. You let the cheese firm up, go bat, come back. Alright. Toastie’s ready to go.”

On-Field Matters

Alright, to cut to the chase. Let’s address the sports aspect initially? Little treat for reading until now. And while there may only be six weeks until the series opener, Labuschagne’s century against the Tigers – his third in recent months in all formats – feels significantly impactful.

We have an Australia top three clearly missing performance and method, exposed by South Africa in the Test championship decider, highlighted further in the Caribbean afterwards. Labuschagne was left out during that series, but on some level you sensed Australia were keen to restore him at the earliest chance. Now he seems to have given them the perfect excuse.

Here is a plan that Australia need to work. Khawaja has just one 100 in his last 44 knocks. Konstas looks not quite a Test opener and rather like the attractive performer who might act as a batsman in a Indian film. No other options has presented a strong argument. McSweeney looks finished. Harris is still surprisingly included, like moths or damp. Meanwhile their leader, Cummins, is hurt and suddenly this seems like a weirdly lightweight side, lacking authority or balance, the kind of natural confidence that has often given Australia a lead before a game starts.

Labuschagne’s Return

Enter Marnus: a world No 1 Test batter as recently as 2023, recently omitted from the one-day team, the perfect character to restore order to a fragile lineup. And we are told this is a composed and reflective Labuschagne these days: a pared-down, back-to-basics Labuschagne, no longer as intensely fixated with minor adjustments. “I feel like I’ve really simplified things,” he said after his century. “Not really too technical, just what I must bat effectively.”

Of course, nobody truly believes this. In all likelihood this is a new approach that exists just in Labuschagne’s mind: still constantly refining that method from all day, going deeper into fundamentals than anyone else would try. You want less technical? Marnus will devote weeks in the practice sessions with coaches and video clips, exhaustively remoulding himself into the least technical batter that has ever been seen. This is simply the nature of the addict, and the trait that has consistently made Labuschagne one of the highly engaging cricketers in the cricket.

The Broader Picture

It could be before this very open England-Australia contest, there is even a sort of appealing difference to Labuschagne’s constant dedication. In England we have a team for whom detailed examination, not to mention self-review, is a risky subject. Feel the flavours. Focus on the present. Smell the now.

In the other corner you have a batsman like Labuschagne, a man terminally obsessed with the sport and totally indifferent by who knows about it, who sees cricket even in the gaps in the game, who handles this unusual pursuit with just the right measure of absurd reverence it deserves.

And it worked. During his focused era – from the time he walked out to substitute for an injured Steve Smith at Lord’s in 2019 to through 2022 – Labuschagne was able to see the game more deeply. To reach it – through sheer intensity of will – on a elevated, strange, passionate tier. During his time with English county cricket, colleagues noticed him on the day of a match resting on a bench in a trance-like state, mentally rehearsing each delivery of his time at the crease. Per Cricviz, during the first few years of his career a unusually large catches were missed when he batted. Remarkably Labuschagne had predicted events before anyone had a chance to influence it.

Form Issues

Perhaps this was why his career began to disintegrate the time he achieved top ranking. There were no further goals to picture, just a empty space before his eyes. Additionally – he lost faith in his favorite stroke, got trapped on the crease and seemed to forget where his off-stump was. But it’s part of the same issue. Meanwhile his trainer, his coach, reckons a emphasis on limited-overs started to weaken assurance in his technique. Good news: he’s now excluded from the ODI side.

Certainly it’s relevant, too, that Labuschagne is a devoutly religious individual, an committed Christian who believes that this is all preordained, who thus sees his job as one of reaching this optimal zone, however enigmatic and inexplicable it may look to the rest of us.

This, to my mind, has long been the key distinction between him and Smith, a instinctive player