The new ball was due in 22 deliveries. And yet, when Jofra Archer came pumping in at full steam for his sixth over on the trot, it never seemed as if the 24-year-old had any problem with the nearly gone shine on the leather. Still clocking north of 150 kmph and even managing to hit Steve Smith on the arm a couple of overs previously, England’s latest weapon in the arsenal was firing point-blank. But it wasn’t easy against the Australian warhorse who seemed to have arrived at the Ashes with renewed determination.
After two massive centuries in the first innings of the first Test that Australia won, it was obvious that a lot would rest on Smith in the second Test as well.
Smith completed his half century with ease, held fort from one end but just as it seemed like a third century was on the cards, a Jofra Archer bouncer halted the juggernaut after Smith had to retire hurt. He did come back to add a few runs, but the injury on the neck ensured he didn’t take field in the second innings.
Enter Marnus Labuschagne
A little over 30 overs into England’s second innings, Cricket Australia, in an official statement, said Steve Smith would no longer take part in the match owing to concussion. Marnus Labuschagne, on the field as a replacement for Smith until then, thus, became the first player to come on as a concussion substitute in the history of the game. A like-for-like replacement meant he could bat, bowl and field like Smith would have, had he been fit.
However, filling in the shoes for a player who averaged 63 back then in Tests was never going to be easy for Labuschagne whose average was just 26.
But it was also an opportunity for the player who had averaged 65.53 for Glamorgan in the County Championship to step up and make a mark for himself. England set a 267-run target for the visitors who got off on a rocky start, losing both their openers in six overs for Labuschagne to step in.
The 25-year-old was welcomed by Archer with yet another short-pitched delivery, one that flew a bit too high, but at 89 mph, the message had been delivered. But, by the time the Labuschagne could interpret it, the next one thudded on his helmet.
Yet another nasty blow, but fortunately for Australia, the batsman was on his feet in no time. He steadied the ship with a 100-ball 59 before departing to a controversial catch. Exchanging a few words on his way back, Labuschagne’s Ashes debut was full of everything that defines it.
Getting Into the Groove
The half-century earned him a direct call-up for the third Test as well, one that Smith sat out owing to the concussion, and Australia lost by a wicket. However, Labuschagne had done enough to help the match go the distance. In the absence of Smith, David Warner was the sole Australian batsman to cross the 50-run mark besides Labuschagne, scoring 74 in the first innings and 80 in the second.
His place had been cemented.
In the next two Tests, Labuschagne’s scores read: 67, 11, 48 and 14. The slight dip in form hadn’t hurt his team as Australia retained the Ashes. A solid No 3 to ease pressure off Smith at No 4 was in the offing too, and Labuschagne had risen to the task. But how classy was Labuschagne? He did help repair damage in the Ashes and stood tall when others faltered, but he wasn’t yet what Baggy Greens yearn to see on the pitch.
It didn’t take him much time to address that too.
A New High
Pakistan toured Australia for a two-match series next and Labuschagne scored his maiden international hundred in the first Test, scoring 185 off 279 deliveries. Toiling for over six hours, Labuschagne’s brute determination was a delight for the Brisbane crowd besides David Warner’s 154 – his first in 20 innings. The “Hum-Bull” was back in form too.
In the next Test, the two picked up from where they had left and while Warner went on to slam a mammoth 335*, Labuschagne complimented him with another 162. Pakistan crumbled under pressure to concede yet another innings defeat, thus handing the series to Australia. But the significant takeaway was perhaps that Labuschagne burst the bubble that Australian batting was all about David Warner and Steve Smith.
Thus, when he followed up the tons with a third consecutive one against New Zealand earlier this month, it hardly came as a surprise. That he scored just half-centuries in the next two innings seemed like he hadn’t done justice to his credentials. But, in turn, he galloped past the man he had substituted in the chart for the highest run-getter in the year.
The 19 he scored in the last innings of the year helped him scale Mt 1.1k to finish with 1,104 runs while Smith tallied 965 albeit having played three fewer Tests. It also helped him rise to No 4 on the ICC Test rankings – just beneath the Big Three of Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson.
With his spot in Tests secured, Labuschagne’s next challenge will now be to impress in the shorter formats as well. He has already earned a call-up to the squad for the series against India, and Virat Kohli & Co will be well aware that beating the Aussies away from home won’t be an easy task this time around. David Warner and Steve Smith – not part of the 2018-19 series owing to their involvement in the ball tampering saga – are both in form and if Labuschagne adds width at the top, it will be quite a contest between India’s famed pace attack led by Jasprit Bumrah and the five-time world champions
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