The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Opinion

What role could Labuschagne play in the T20 side?

Autoplay in... 6 (Cancel)
Up Next No more videos! Playlist is empty -
Replay
Cancel
Next
Roar Pro
27th August, 2020
16

As Australia’s white-ball squad prepares for a return to action in England, attention once again turns to the makeup of the T20 side, with consecutive World Cup tournaments scheduled for the next two years.

Whilst Marnus Labuschagne’s inclusion in the touring party is hardly surprising given his incumbency in the ODI XI, it will be interesting to see if he is given an opportunity during the T20 component of the tour.

Labuschagne has played just ten T20s in his professional career to date and has an ordinary record in the game’s shortest format, with a highest score of just 28.

However, when his form over the last 12 months is considered, it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility that he is given an opportunity in England.

Given Australia’s 21-man squad will play three T20 intrasquad games prior to the series proper, at the very least the Queenslander will have an opportunity to push for selection. But what role would he play in the team?

Marnus Labuschagne celebrates a ton

(Photo by Lee Warren/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

Considering his ability to play long innings, Labuschagne is probably best suited to batting at No. 3, allowing him to anchor the innings and accelerate in the later overs. However, Steve Smith has this position secured, having scored 251 runs at 83.33 in his last nine T20 internationals at a strike rate of 147.

While Smith can bat lower – and he does when hitters are elevated to accelerate the run rate – the former captain remains the best man to play the anchor role.

Advertisement

Realistically, to fully maximise Glenn Maxwell’s breathtaking scoring rate he too should bat in the top four, with No. 4 looking like the ideal position behind anchor Smith.

Maxwell averages 41.1 at the No. 4 position with a strike rate of 159.38. It simply isn’t worth pushing him down the order to accommodate Labuschagne.

With Alex Carey keeping and batting at No. 6, the No. 5 spot seems to be Labuschagne’s most likely role.

The Queenslander is an excellent player of spin and has demonstrated in his short ODI career to date that he can manipulate the field with ones and twos, absorbing minimal dot balls while also finding the boundary.

He has scored at a healthy strike rate of 94.42 in ODIs, with his maiden ODI hundred in South Africa showcasing his ability to bat fluently towards the end of an innings.

In that innings Labuschagne made 42 off 29 balls in the last ten overs with a strike rate of 144.83 in that time period. While this included five boundaries, for the most part it was a culmination of working the ball into gaps and running hard.

Sports opinion delivered daily 

   

Advertisement

Naturally in the shorter format Labuschagne would need to accelerate sooner, which would likely lead to a higher overall strike rate. Having played very few T20s, his challenge will be to adapt to playing short cameos.

While his scoring rate cannot compete with the likes of Maxwell, Labuschagne’s ability to rotate the strike and not waste balls would be an asset at No. 5 and arguably more valuable than a dot or boundary-style player.

His role would be similar to that of Jono Wells, whose manipulation of the field outweighs a lack of power and has made him a vital cog in the Adelaide Strikers middle order. Wells still has the ability to find the boundary but lacks the power of many competitors, utilising clever placement of the ball to find gaps.

Indeed Wells scored just 43 per cent of his runs from boundaries last BBL season, the lowest percentage among the 22 players to score 300 runs or more.

The Strikers star had the highest average in the most recent BBL season and scored at a more than serviceable strike rate of 135.41.

While Wells would be thoroughly deserving of an Australian T20 cap, his absence from the current squad leaves him on the outer and opens the door for Labuschagne to cement a place at No. 5.

Advertisement

Other contenders for the position are Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Wade, both of whom were given an opportunity in the middle order in Australia’s most recent T20 assignment in the absence of Maxwell.

Western Warriors Mitchell Marsh

(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Marsh would offer a different style to Labuschagne as a powerful ball-striker rather than a manipulator of the field. Nonetheless, having performed strongly in the middle order in the BBL for a number of years, the West Australian can still offer a solid option at No. 5.

Unlike Marsh, Wade plays his BBL cricket as an opener and would perhaps be better suited to a role at the top of the order given his brutal ball-striking ability when the field is up. In the last BBL season Wade averaged 50.14 at an astonishing strike rate 171.21.

One possibility would be to move Aaron Finch into the middle order, where he has performed well in his admittedly limited opportunities to date. In his five innings at Nos. 5 or 6 the captain has compiled 142 runs without being dismissed at a strike rate of 179.75.

Finch, like Marsh, is more of a power hitter than a nudger but has demonstrated an ability to score from ball one with the field spread, something many accomplished batsmen struggle with. Given Australia’s plethora of opening batsmen and lack of middle-order options, this may be worth another try before the next World Cup.

This would also open the door to Josh Philippe and Marcus Stoinis, although Wade’s superior scoring rate and incumbency in the side probably place him higher in the pecking order.

Advertisement

Ultimately this leaves Australia with two options for the upcoming T20 series:
Option 1

  1. David Warner
  2. Aaron Finch
  3. Steve Smith
  4. Glenn Maxwell
  5. Marnus Labuschagne or Mitch Marsh

Option 2

  1. David Warner
  2. Matthew Wade or Marcus Stoinis or Josh Philippe
  3. Steve Smith
  4. Glenn Maxwell
  5. Aaron Finch

With Option 1 probably more likely given Finch’s role as captain, Labuschagne is a genuine chance to play in England.

Only 12 months on from his dramatic rise to Test stardom, a return to English shores could mark the Queenslander’s ascension to a true three-format player.

Advertisement
close