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Marnus methodically applies butter on each surface of a slice of soft bread. “That’s essential,” he explains as he brings down the lid of his sandwich grill. “Perfect. Then you get it crisp on both sides.” He opens the grill to reveal a perfectly browned of pure toasted goodness, the melted cheese happily melting inside. “Here’s the secret method,” he explains. At which point, he does something shocking and odd.

Already, you may feel a layer of boredom is beginning to cover your eyes. The alarm bells of overly fancy prose are flashing wildly. You’re probably aware that Labuschagne scored 160 for Queensland this week and is being feverishly talked up for an return to the Test side before the England-Australia contest.

No doubt you’d prefer to read more about cricket matters. But first – you now grasp with irritation – you’re going to have to endure a section of wobbling whimsy about toasties, plus an extra unwanted bonus paragraph of self-referential analysis in the direct address. You sigh again.

Marnus transfers the sandwich on to a plate and heads over the fridge. “It’s uncommon,” he remarks, “but I genuinely enjoy the grilled sandwich chilled. Done, in the fridge. You allow the cheese to set, go for a hit, come back. Perfect. It’s ideal.”

The Cricket Context

Look, to cut to the chase. Shall we get the sports aspect out of the way first? Little treat for reading until now. And while there may be just six weeks until the series opener, Labuschagne’s century against the Tasmanian side – his third this season in all cricket – feels quietly decisive.

We have an Australian top order clearly missing consistency and technique, shown up by South Africa in the WTC final, shown up once more in the West Indies after that. Labuschagne was left out during that trip, but on some level you felt Australia were desperate to rehabilitate him at the soonest moment. Now he seems to have given them the right opportunity.

And this is a plan that Australia need to work. Khawaja has a single hundred in his last 44 knocks. Sam Konstas looks less like a first-innings batsman and more like the good-looking star who might play a Test opener in a Bollywood epic. No other options has shown convincing form. McSweeney looks cooked. Marcus Harris is still inexplicably hanging around, like moths or damp. Meanwhile their skipper, Cummins, is unfit and suddenly this seems like a surprisingly weak team, short of authority or balance, the kind of natural confidence that has often helped Australia dominate before a ball is bowled.

The Batsman’s Revival

Step forward Marnus: a leading Test player as in the recent past, freshly dropped from the one-day team, the ideal candidate to bring stability to a brittle empire. And we are told this is a more relaxed and thoughtful Labuschagne currently: a pared-down, back-to-basics Labuschagne, less maniacally obsessed with small details. “It seems I’ve really cut out extras,” he said after his century. “Not really too technical, just what I must make runs.”

Clearly, few accept this. In all likelihood this is a fresh image that exists entirely in Labuschagne’s personal view: still constantly refining that technique from dawn to dusk, going deeper into fundamentals than any player has attempted. Prefer simplicity? Marnus will spend months in the nets with coaches and video clips, completely transforming into the least technical batter that has ever existed. That’s the nature of the addict, and the characteristic that has long made Labuschagne one of the highly engaging players in the game.

The Broader Picture

Perhaps before this highly uncertain historic rivalry, there is even a sort of pleasing dissonance to Labuschagne’s endless focus. In England we have a side for whom any kind of analysis, let alone self-analysis, is a kind of dangerous taboo. Go with instinct. Focus on the present. Smell the now.

In the other corner you have a batsman like Labuschagne, a player completely dedicated with cricket and totally indifferent by who knows about it, who finds cricket even in the gaps in the game, who treats this absurd sport with just the right measure of odd devotion it requires.

This approach succeeded. During his focused era – from the instant he appeared to replace a concussed Smith at Lord’s in 2019 to through 2022 – Labuschagne somehow managed to see the game with greater insight. To tap into it – through pure determination – on a higher, weirder, more frenzied level. During his days playing club cricket, teammates would find him on the morning of a game sitting on a park bench in a trance-like state, literally visualising every single ball of his batting stint. According to cricket statisticians, during the early stages of his career a statistically unfathomable catches were missed when he batted. Somehow Labuschagne had predicted events before others could react to affect it.

Current Struggles

It’s possible this was why his form started to decline the point he became number one. There were no worlds left to visualise, just a unknown territory before his eyes. Also – to be fair – he began doubting his favorite stroke, got unable to move forward and seemed to forget where his off-stump was. But it’s part of the same issue. Meanwhile his mentor, Neil D’Costa, reckons a focus on white-ball cricket started to undermine belief in his technique. Positive development: he’s recently omitted from the one-day team.

No doubt it’s important, too, that Labuschagne is a man of deep religious faith, an evangelical Christian who holds that this is all basically written out in advance, who thus sees his task as one of achieving this peak performance, despite being puzzling it may appear to the mortal of us.

This approach, to my mind, has consistently been the main point of difference between him and the other batsman, a more naturally gifted player