Marnus Labuschagne levels his eyes, cocks his blade and waits for the next delivery.
Pakistan seamer Mohammad Abbas cruises to the crease, lifts his left arm next to his ear, pulls it back down past his hip and rhythmically releases the pink Kookaburra ball. The visiting quick appears to have complete control over the delivery, which skims off the Adelaide Oval pitch towards the top of Labuschagne’s off stump.
This is exactly where Abbas wants to be. His generous Test success has been built on deliveries just like this. Many Test batsmen in this modern era do not possess a solid forward defensive shot and so Abbas has ran amok with such disciplined offerings.
His opponents over-commit towards the ball and make their front pad a target. Or they get caught on the crease and extend their hands instead of their front leg. Or they hang back and allow the delivery too much time to misbehave.
On this occasion, though, Abbas’ stock delivery is met with the centre of a flat blade. Labuschagne has, with the minimum of effort, stepped towards the ball, bent his knee, kept his head over the delivery and struck it with a dead bat right under his eyes.
Experienced international bowlers commonly describe such a stroke as the most demoralising they’ve encountered. It is one thing to over-pitch and be driven for four, to drop short and be pulled for six, or to drift on to the pads and see the ball struck to the square leg rope.
It is another thing altogether to watch your best delivery dead-batted with calm and an apparent lack of effort. Such batting renders a bowler impotent. From there, where can they go? The answer is outside of their comfort zone.
When a bowler’s stock delivery becomes ineffective, it is natural for them to seek an alternative. Maybe throw one wide, or try to gain extra pace, or surprise the batsman with a bouncer, or roll their fingers across the seam, or change up their speeds.
This might work. Or it might play right into the hands of the batsman, who has just forced their opponent to abandon their strengths and search for a new approach.
This is just what Labuschagne does.
(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
It is the least noticeable element of his batting yet perhaps the most influential. When quicks hit their preferred area – when they land the ball on a nice length on or outside off stump – the Queenslander has two predictable answers. The first is to shoulder arms and watch the delivery waste away outside off stump. The second is to step forward, crouch over the ball and defend it with an alarming degree of surety.
Bowlers would rather concede four runs from an adventurous slash outside off than watch the ball trickle for a dot from an assured forward press. When a batsman does this again and again and again, smothering an opponent’s best deliveries, the bowler invariably starts to experiment. They begin to feed the strengths of the batsman. A low-carb diet of top-of-fourth-stump deliveries becomes a hillbilly feast of half volleys and short balls.
Labuschagne has patience and he uses it as a weapon. His mentor and apparent idol Steve Smith does the same, boring opponents into feeding him junk deliveries.
It is a strategy that has been an astonishing success for Smith, leading him to a Test average of 64 and the number one Test batsman ranking. His understudy, meanwhile, has exploited it to shock the life out of Test cricket this year.
Even Labuschagne fanboys must not have predicted in January that he would have 793 runs at 66 for the year by this stage.
It looks and feels like a misprint. Until, that is, you watch Labuschagne defend a good delivery. Then it all makes sense.
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
Nice article!
jameswm
Roar Guru
2 for 350
TheCunningLinguistic
Roar Rookie
Just quietly, how abysmal is the Pakistan fielding, particularly Afridi? Just hideous to watch...
Omnitrader
Roar Rookie
I think all young batsmen should have county stints, where possible.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Marnus changed his stance to get less side on I belive. It allows him to get his head still and over the ball. He is obviously doing well but It is hard to tell how our guys are going with Pakistan performing like you would expext a second grade side to do at test level. The Pakies need to take a good long look at how they play here because they just are hopeless in Aus.
Nudge
Roar Rookie
Yep this is true. Maybe Pakistan have worked out a way of getting Smith out early, that other countries have not yet discovered. Make sure he never comes in at less than 2 for 250. Interesting game plan
TRhing-me
Roar Rookie
The real secret to Labuschagne's success is that his parents moved him out of South Africa so that he didn't have to sleep in the middle of his house with the rest of his family despite the barbed wire and security cameras. Sadly I'm betting his name won't be coming up on any trivial pursuits night, any time now or in the future.
Tanmoy Kar
Roar Rookie
Labuschagne should go back to South Africa, they need a batsman like him very badly!
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Abbas didn’t bowl many balls that would have hit off stump yesterday and hardly one moved off a length. They calculated that the quicks has only bowled about 9 balls that would have hit the stumps by late in the day. Don’t think Warner played and missed once - because the ball didn’t move. Labuschagne looked in great nick after three early plays and misses to Shahid, but batting wasn’t in the high degree of difficulty category. Mohammad Musa looked like the worst selection ever - a 19 year old with a bowling average of 37 after seven first class games, he is about 5’6” so not only gets less bounce but is much easier to pick up than taller bowlers. So bowling in the 140s won’t matter much, but even then he was often in the 130s. Yasir and Abbas were very ordinary.
Steele
Roar Rookie
Smith’s famed patience was non existent when Aus were two for however many in Brisbane and now he faces the same scenario again! Maybe this will be his kryptonite(a functioning top order)?!
Harry
Guest
Good article highlighting the importance of technique and temperament at test level. Unfortunately under rated in this day and age.
Graham
Guest
Similarly I remember the world cup semi when Starc bowled a beauty against Roy, swinging back sharply into the pads only for Roy to cover the movement and block it from that point I thought we could be in trouble.
The Late News
Roar Rookie
Thanks mate...a good read. Great to have good news for a change!
Diamond Jackie
Roar Rookie
No doubt Steve Smith is currently trying to convince Marnus that he would do even better at #4 !
Pierro
Roar Rookie
He was in both of our first XV teams for the first Ashes match but was not selected. I am grateful every day to Archer for hitting Smith (without serious injury) in the helmet and the new concussion rules. It finally got the selectors to bring Labuschagne in after his superb county season. What a joy it was to watch someone defend and leave the duke balls outside of off in england unlike so many of the inept batsman who just can’t play English conditions despite their big first class averages or higher averages in Australia which just don’t translate well on english pitches . Now Labs has carried the form back in to completely different conditions with kookaburra ball. It will be interesting to see how he goes against the Kiwis at Optus/MCG/SCG . He seems to be the best batting find Australia have had since Smith and represents what Australia have needed at first drop since Ponting was in form in the position. Sadly we don’t have a lot of test cricket this next year and hoping he holds this form through the kiwi matches and right through to India/SA during the 10 month break unless the bangladesh matches happen to avoid the customary flooding at that time of year.
badmanners
Roar Rookie
There were a few stories floating around post ashes regarding some coaching he received in England during his county cricket stint. Some straightening of the back lift IIRC, it seems to have had a great effect. So why did he have to go to England to have it identified and corrected? His first class figures were underwhelming and he has had exposure to our current test set up which is headed by a previous test team batting coach. A good read that story, thanks Ronan.