Marnus Labuschagne ‘walking a little taller’ after pre-Ashes runs spree
Marnus Labuschagne says he will bat wherever he can if recalled for the Ashes as Australia search for an opener to partner Usman Khawaja and admits he’s “walking a little taller” after recapturing his mojo at state level.
A torrid three years at Test level saw the long-time first drop batter axed for a three-Test series in the West Indies and in jeopardy of missing this summer’s Ashes contest against England.
However, the 31-year-old has burst out of the blocks with four centuries in five knocks across three List A games and two Sheffield Shield clashes for Queensland.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Since the start of the domestic summer on September 17, Labuschagne has scores of 130, two, 160, 105, 159 and 18, all but ensuring his Ashes selection amid a lean start for the rest of the country’s top order batters.
But when asked if he would put his hand up for the vacant opener’s role, held by young gun Sam Konstas in the West Indies, he played a very straight bat.
“Wherever the selectors and coach put me, that’s where I’ll be batting,” Labuschagne said on Fox Cricket.
“But I’ve batted my whole career for Australia at three. So, there’s nothing more to be said, wherever they put me (I will bat).
“(The Ashes are) always in the back of your mind. I always just kept telling myself that if I’m playing at my best, that stuff takes care of itself.”
Labuschagne had clearly been a man down on form and confidence before he was dropped, but the former Test player of the year says there has been no better remedy than his runs spree.
“It’s always nice when you’re scoring runs, you probably walk a bit taller, you’ve got that confidence, and it’s probably a nice reminder for yourself after struggling for a couple of years that you’ve still got it,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter how good you are or how many runs you’ve scored, when you don’t score runs for a while, those doubts creep in.
“To go back and find a way to keep scoring runs and try to play as many games as I possibly can - I think I played six or seven club games, into two or three practice games, into the first game of the season.
“I really went back to the chalkboard and tried to start from scratch by playing games and letting that be the focus.”
