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The Australian batsman methodically applies butter on each surface of a slice of plain bread. “That’s essential,” he explains as he lowers the lid of his sandwich grill. “Boom. Then you get it toasted on each side.” He checks inside to reveal a toasted delight of delicious perfection, the bubbling cheese happily sizzling within. “So this is the trick of the trade,” he explains. At which point, he does something shocking and odd.

By now, you may feel a layer of boredom is beginning to cover your eyes. The red lights of sportswriting pretension are going off. You’re likely conscious that Labuschagne made 160 runs for Queensland Bulls this week and is being eagerly promoted for an return to the Test side before the Ashes.

You likely wish to read more about cricket matters. But first – you now realise with an anguished sigh – you’re going to have to sit through a section of light-hearted musing about grilled cheese, plus an additional unnecessary part of self-referential analysis in the “you” perspective. You sigh again.

Marnus transfers the sandwich on to a serving plate and heads over the fridge. “It’s uncommon,” he states, “but I personally prefer the toastie cold. There, in the fridge. You get that cheese to harden up, go for a hit, come back. Perfect. It’s ideal.”

On-Field Matters

Okay, let’s try it like this. Let’s address the cricket bit to begin with? Small reward for making it this far. And while there may only be six weeks until the initial match, Labuschagne’s hundred against Tasmania – his third this season in all cricket – feels importantly timed.

Here’s an Australian top order seriously lacking form and structure, exposed by the South African team in the Test championship decider, shown up once more in the Caribbean afterwards. Labuschagne was dropped during that series, but on a certain level you gathered Australia were desperate to rehabilitate him at the first opportunity. Now he looks to have given them the right opportunity.

This represents a plan that Australia need to work. Khawaja has a single hundred in his last 44 knocks. Sam Konstas looks hardly a Test match opener and rather like the good-looking star who might play a Test opener in a Bollywood movie. None of the alternatives has shown convincing form. Nathan McSweeney looks cooked. Another option is still oddly present, like moths or damp. Meanwhile their leader, Cummins, is hurt and suddenly this seems like a unusually thin squad, short of authority or balance, the kind of natural confidence that has often helped Australia dominate before a game starts.

The Batsman’s Revival

Here comes Labuschagne: a top-ranked Test batsman as just two years ago, just left out from the ODI side, the perfect character to return structure to a fragile lineup. And we are advised this is a more relaxed and thoughtful Labuschagne currently: a pared-down, fundamental-focused Labuschagne, less extremely focused with small details. “It seems I’ve really cut out extras,” he said after his hundred. “Less focused on technique, just what I need to bat effectively.”

Naturally, this is doubted. Probably this is a rebrand that exists entirely in Labuschagne’s personal view: still endlessly adjusting that approach from dawn to dusk, going further toward simplicity than any player has attempted. Prefer simplicity? Marnus will devote weeks in the practice sessions with advisors and replays, completely transforming into the most basic batsman that has ever been seen. That’s the quality of the focused, and the trait that has always made Labuschagne one of the highly engaging players in the sport.

Wider Context

Maybe before this very open Ashes series, there is even a sort of interesting contrast to Labuschagne’s unquenchable obsession. For England we have a team for whom technical study, not to mention self-review, is a kind of dangerous taboo. Go with instinct. Be where the ball is. Live in the instant.

In the other corner you have a individual like Labuschagne, a individual completely dedicated with cricket and wonderfully unconcerned by others’ opinions, who finds cricket even in the gaps in the game, who treats this absurd sport with just the right measure of quirky respect it deserves.

His method paid off. During his focused era – from the time he walked out to substitute for an injured Steve Smith at the famous ground in 2019 to until late 2022 – Labuschagne somehow managed to see the game more deeply. To tap into it – through pure determination – on a different, unusual, intense plane. During his time with English county cricket, colleagues noticed him on the morning of a game sitting on a park bench in a trance-like state, actually imagining every single ball of his batting stint. Per Cricviz, during the first few years of his career a surprisingly high proportion of catches were spilled from his batting. Somehow Labuschagne had predicted events before fielders could respond to influence it.

Recent Challenges

Maybe this was why his performance dipped the moment he reached the summit. There were no worlds left to visualise, just a unknown territory before his eyes. Additionally – he stopped trusting his signature shot, got unable to move forward and seemed to misjudge his positioning. But it’s connected really. Meanwhile his trainer, his coach, reckons a emphasis on limited-overs started to erode confidence in his positioning. Positive development: he’s just been dropped from the one-day team.

Surely it matters, too, that Labuschagne is a man of deep religious faith, an religious believer who thinks that this is all basically written out in advance, who thus sees his job as one of reaching this optimal zone, no matter how mysterious it may appear to the mortal of us.

This, to my mind, has always been the main point of difference between him and Steve Smith, a inherently talented player