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Labuschagne methodically applies butter on the top and bottom of a slice of soft bread. “That’s the key,” he states as he closes the lid of his sandwich grill. “Perfect. Then you get it golden on each side.” He lifts the lid to reveal a toasted delight of pure toasted goodness, the gooey cheese happily sizzling within. “Here’s the trick of the trade,” he declares. At which point, he does something horrific and unspeakable.

By now, I sense a layer of boredom is beginning to form across your eyes. The warning signs of elaborate writing are flashing wildly. You’re probably aware that Labuschagne scored 160 for Queensland this week and is being feverishly talked up for an return to the Test side before the England-Australia contest.

You likely wish to read more about that. But first – you now realise with an anguished sigh – you’re going to have to get through several lines of playful digression about grilled cheese, plus an extra unwanted bonus paragraph of self-referential analysis in the direct address. You sigh again.

He turns the sandwich on to a plate and moves toward the fridge. “Few try this,” he announces, “but I personally prefer the cold toastie. There, in the fridge. You allow the cheese to set, head to practice, come back. Perfect. Toastie’s ready to go.”

Back to Cricket

Okay, to cut to the chase. Let’s address the cricket bit out of the way first? Small reward for reading until now. And while there may still be six weeks until the first Test, Labuschagne’s hundred against the Tasmanian side – his third in recent months in all formats – feels significantly impactful.

This is an Australian top order badly short of consistency and technique, shown up by the Proteas in the World Test Championship final, exposed again in the West Indies after that. Labuschagne was omitted during that trip, but on a certain level you gathered Australia were eager to bring him back at the earliest chance. Now he seems to have given them the right opportunity.

And this is a strategy Australia must implement. The opener has just one 100 in his recent 44 batting efforts. Konstas looks not quite a first-innings batsman and rather like the good-looking star who might portray a cricketer in a Indian film. None of the alternatives has shown convincing form. McSweeney looks cooked. Another option is still surprisingly included, like moths or damp. Meanwhile their skipper, Cummins, is hurt and suddenly this appears as a unusually thin squad, lacking authority or balance, the kind of built-in belief that has often put Australia 2-0 up before a match begins.

The Batsman’s Revival

Enter Marnus: a world No 1 Test batter as just two years ago, just left out from the 50-over squad, the right person to restore order to a shaky team. And we are advised this is a more relaxed and thoughtful Labuschagne these days: a pared-down, back-to-basics Labuschagne, less intensely fixated with small details. “I feel like I’ve really simplified things,” he said after his hundred. “Not overthinking, just what I should make runs.”

Naturally, this is doubted. Probably this is a new approach that exists just in Labuschagne’s mind: still constantly refining that technique from dawn to dusk, going deeper into fundamentals than anyone has ever dared. Prefer simplicity? Marnus will spend months in the training with advisors and replays, thoroughly reshaping his game into the least technical batter that has ever been seen. This is just the trait of the obsessed, and the quality that has consistently made Labuschagne one of the deeply fascinating players in the sport.

Wider Context

Perhaps before this highly uncertain England-Australia contest, there is even a sort of interesting contrast to Labuschagne’s constant dedication. In England we have a side for whom detailed examination, not to mention self-review, is a risky subject. Trust your gut. Be where the ball is. Live in the instant.

For Australia you have a player such as Labuschagne, a individual completely dedicated with the sport and magnificently unbothered by who knows about it, who finds cricket even in the moments outside play, who treats this absurd sport with exactly the level of absurd reverence it deserves.

This approach succeeded. During his intense period – from the moment he strode out to replace a concussed the senior batsman at the famous ground in 2019 to through 2022 – Labuschagne was able to see the game with greater insight. To reach it – through pure determination – on a elevated, strange, passionate tier. During his days playing club cricket, colleagues noticed him on the morning of a game positioned on a seat in a focused mindset, actually imagining each delivery of his time at the crease. Per Cricviz, during the initial period of his career a unusually large proportion of catches were dropped off his bat. Remarkably Labuschagne had anticipated outcomes before anyone had a chance to influence it.

Form Issues

Maybe this was why his performance dipped the point he became number one. There were no new heights to imagine, just a boundless, uncharted void before his eyes. Additionally – he stopped trusting his favorite stroke, got stuck in his crease and seemed to lose awareness of his stumps. But it’s part of the same issue. Meanwhile his mentor, D’Costa, believes a focus on white-ball cricket started to erode confidence in his alignment. Good news: he’s recently omitted from the 50-over squad.

No doubt it’s important, too, that Labuschagne is a strongly faithful person, an committed Christian who holds that this is all preordained, who thus sees his role as one of accessing this state of flow, despite being puzzling it may look to the rest of us.

This, to my mind, has always been the key distinction between him and the other batsman, a instinctive player