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Labuschagne evenly coats butter on both sides of a slice of soft bread. “That’s the key,” he tells the camera as he closes the lid of his grilled cheese press. “Boom. Then you get it crisp on each side.” He opens the grill to reveal a perfectly browned of delicious perfection, the gooey cheese happily sizzling within. “And that’s the key technique,” he explains. At which point, he does something horrific and unspeakable.

At this stage, you may feel a sense of disinterest is beginning to cover your eyes. The alarm bells of sportswriting pretension are blinking intensely. You’re probably aware that Labuschagne made 160 runs for Queensland this week and is being widely discussed 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 realise with an anguished sigh – you’re going to have to get through three paragraphs of playful digression about grilled cheese, plus an additional unnecessary part of overly analytical commentary in the second person. You groan once more.

Marnus transfers the sandwich on to a serving plate and heads over the fridge. “Not many people do this,” he states, “but I actually like the cold toastie. Done, in the fridge. You get that cheese to harden up, go bat, come back. Alright. Sandwich is perfect.”

On-Field Matters

Okay, let’s try it like this. How about we cover the match details initially? Little treat for reading until now. And while there may be just six weeks until the series opener, Labuschagne’s hundred against Tasmania – his third in recent months in various games – feels quietly decisive.

This is an Australian top order clearly missing consistency and technique, shown up by South Africa in the WTC final, highlighted further in the West Indies after that. Labuschagne was left out during that trip, but on a certain level you felt Australia were keen to restore him at the earliest chance. Now he looks to have given them the right opportunity.

And this is a strategy Australia must implement. Usman Khawaja has one century in his past 44 innings. The young batsman looks less like a first-innings batsman and more like the handsome actor who might play a Test opener in a Indian film. Other candidates has made a cogent case. One contender looks out of form. Harris is still surprisingly included, like unwanted guests. Meanwhile their captain, Pat Cummins, is injured and suddenly this appears as a surprisingly weak team, short of command or stability, the kind of effortless self-assurance that has often put Australia 2-0 up before a match begins.

Labuschagne’s Return

Here comes Labuschagne: a top-ranked Test batsman as in the recent past, recently omitted from the ODI side, the perfect character to return structure to a brittle empire. And we are advised this is a composed and reflective Labuschagne these days: a pared-down, fundamental-focused Labuschagne, less intensely fixated with minor adjustments. “I feel like I’ve really simplified things,” he said after his century. “Not overthinking, just what I need to score runs.”

Naturally, few accept this. Most likely this is a rebrand that exists only in Labuschagne’s mind: still endlessly adjusting that technique from dawn to dusk, going further toward simplicity than any player has attempted. Like basic approach? Marnus will devote weeks in the nets with coaches and video clips, completely transforming into the least technical batter that has ever existed. This is simply the trait of the obsessed, and the characteristic that has long made Labuschagne one of the highly engaging players in the sport.

Bigger Scene

Perhaps before this very open Ashes series, there is even a type of pleasing dissonance to Labuschagne’s endless focus. For England we have a side for whom detailed examination, let alone self-analysis, is a risky subject. Feel the flavours. Be where the ball is. Smell the now.

On the opposite side you have a individual like Labuschagne, a player completely dedicated with the sport and totally indifferent by public perception, who observes cricket even in the gaps in the game, who treats this absurd sport with precisely the amount of quirky respect it demands.

And it worked. During his intense period – from the time he walked out to replace a concussed Steve Smith at Lord’s in 2019 to around the end of 2022 – Labuschagne was able to see the game more deeply. To access it – through sheer intensity of will – on a elevated, strange, passionate tier. During his days playing English county cricket, fellow players saw him on the game day resting on a bench in a trance-like state, mentally rehearsing every single ball of his innings. Per cricket statisticians, during the first few years of his career a surprisingly high catches were dropped off his bat. Remarkably Labuschagne had intuited what would happen 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 unknown territory before his eyes. Furthermore – he began doubting his signature shot, got stuck in his crease and seemed to misjudge his positioning. But it’s part of the same issue. Meanwhile his trainer, D’Costa, reckons a attention to shorter formats started to undermine belief in his alignment. Good news: he’s recently omitted from the 50-over squad.

No doubt it’s important, too, that Labuschagne is a strongly faithful person, an evangelical Christian who thinks that this is all preordained, who thus sees his task as one of achieving this peak performance, however enigmatic and inexplicable it may seem to the ordinary people.

This mindset, to my mind, has always been the key distinction between him and Smith, a inherently talented player