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The Australian batsman carefully spreads butter on each surface of a slice of soft bread. “That’s the key,” he explains as he lowers the lid of his grilled cheese press. “Perfect. Then you get it golden on both sides.” He lifts the lid to reveal a toasted delight of ideal crispiness, the gooey cheese happily bubbling away. “Here’s the secret method,” he announces. At which point, he does something shocking and odd.

By now, I sense a sense of disinterest is beginning to appear in your eyes. The warning signs of overly fancy prose are flashing wildly. You’re probably aware that Labuschagne hit 160 for his state team this week and is being widely discussed for an Australian Test recall before the Ashes.

You probably want to read more about cricket matters. But first – you now realise with an anguished sigh – you’re going to have to sit through a section of light-hearted musing about toasties, plus an extra unwanted bonus paragraph of overly analytical commentary in the second person. You groan once more.

Marnus transfers the sandwich on to a plate and heads over the fridge. “Not many people do this,” he remarks, “but I genuinely enjoy the grilled sandwich chilled. Boom, in the fridge. You allow the cheese to set, go for a hit, come back. Boom. Sandwich is perfect.”

Back to Cricket

Alright, to cut to the chase. Let’s address the sports aspect to begin with? Little treat for reading until now. And while there may be just six weeks until the first Test, Labuschagne’s century against the Tigers – his third of the summer in all formats – feels importantly timed.

This is an Australia top three seriously lacking form and structure, revealed against South Africa in the WTC final, exposed again in the Caribbean afterwards. Labuschagne was dropped during that tour, but on a certain level you sensed Australia were keen to restore him at the earliest chance. Now he seems to have given them the ideal reason.

And this is a approach the team should follow. Usman Khawaja has a single hundred in his last 44 knocks. The young batsman looks not quite a Test opener and rather like the attractive performer who might act as a batsman in a Bollywood movie. No other options has made a cogent case. Nathan McSweeney looks finished. Another option is still inexplicably hanging around, like moths or damp. Meanwhile their captain, Cummins, is unfit and suddenly this feels like a weirdly lightweight side, short of strength or equilibrium, the kind of natural confidence that has often helped Australia dominate before a ball is bowled.

Labuschagne’s Return

Step forward Marnus: a top-ranked Test batsman as in the recent past, recently omitted from the 50-over squad, the right person to bring stability to a shaky team. And we are told this is a composed and reflective Labuschagne these days: a simplified, fundamental-focused Labuschagne, not as intensely fixated with small details. “I believe I have really cut out extras,” he said after his century. “Less focused on technique, just what I need to bat effectively.”

Of course, nobody truly believes this. Most likely this is a new approach that exists entirely in Labuschagne’s own head: still endlessly adjusting that method from all day, going more back to basics than anyone else would try. You want less technical? Marnus will take time in the practice sessions with coaches and video clips, exhaustively remoulding himself into the least technical batter that has ever existed. This is simply the nature of the addict, and the quality that has long made Labuschagne one of the deeply fascinating players in the sport.

The Broader Picture

It could be before this very open England-Australia contest, there is even a sort of pleasing dissonance to Labuschagne’s unquenchable obsession. In England we have a team for whom technical study, not to mention self-review, is a risky subject. Feel the flavours. Focus on the present. Smell the now.

On the opposite side you have a individual like Labuschagne, a individual terminally obsessed with cricket and wonderfully unconcerned by public perception, who sees cricket even in the spaces between the cricket, who treats this absurd sport with precisely the amount of odd devotion it requires.

His method paid off. During his focused era – from the instant he appeared to substitute for an injured Steve Smith at Lord’s in 2019 to until late 2022 – Labuschagne was able to see the game on another level. To reach it – through sheer intensity of will – on a elevated, strange, passionate tier. During his stint in Kent league cricket, teammates would find him on the day of a match positioned on a seat in a trance-like state, mentally rehearsing every single ball of his innings. Per cricket statisticians, during the early stages of his career a surprisingly high proportion of catches were missed when he batted. Somehow Labuschagne had anticipated outcomes before fielders could respond to influence it.

Current Struggles

It’s possible this was why his form started to decline the moment he reached the summit. There were no worlds left to visualise, just a empty space before his eyes. Furthermore – he stopped trusting his favorite stroke, got unable to move forward and seemed to lose awareness of his stumps. But it’s connected really. Meanwhile his coach, his coach, believes a attention to shorter formats started to erode confidence in his technique. Good news: he’s recently omitted from the ODI side.

No doubt it’s important, too, that Labuschagne is a man of deep religious faith, an committed Christian who believes that this is all basically written out in advance, who thus sees his job as one of accessing this state of flow, however enigmatic and inexplicable it may look to the mortal of us.

This, to my mind, has consistently been the primary contrast between him and Steve Smith, a inherently talented player