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Labuschagne methodically applies butter on each surface of a slice of plain bread. “That’s essential,” he tells the camera as he brings down the lid of his grilled cheese press. “There you go. Then you get it crisp on each side.” He opens the grill to reveal a toasted delight of pure toasted goodness, the melted cheese happily sizzling within. “Here’s the trick of the trade,” he explains. At which point, he does something horrific and unspeakable.

At this stage, you may feel a glaze of ennui is beginning to appear in your eyes. The red lights of elaborate writing are blinking intensely. You’re no doubt informed that Labuschagne made 160 runs for his state team this week and is being feverishly talked up for an return to the Test side before the Ashes.

No doubt you’d prefer to read more about his performance. But first – you now realise with an anguished sigh – you’re going to have to get through three paragraphs of wobbling whimsy about toasties, plus an further tangential section of tiresome meta‑deconstruction in the direct address. You groan once more.

Labuschagne flips the sandwich on to a plate and heads over the fridge. “It’s uncommon,” he remarks, “but I personally prefer the toastie cold. Boom, in the fridge. You let the cheese firm up, go bat, come back. Boom. It’s ideal.”

On-Field Matters

Alright, to cut to the chase. How about we cover the cricket bit initially? Small reward for making it this far. And while there may still be six weeks until the series opener, Labuschagne’s 100 runs against the Tigers – his third in recent months in all formats – feels importantly timed.

Here’s an Australian top order clearly missing performance and method, revealed against South Africa in the Test championship decider, shown up once more in the Caribbean afterwards. Labuschagne was omitted during that tour, but on some level you felt Australia were eager to bring him back at the earliest chance. Now he appears to have given them the right opportunity.

Here is a strategy Australia must implement. Usman Khawaja has just one 100 in his last 44 knocks. The young batsman looks hardly a Test match opener and rather like the good-looking star who might portray a cricketer in a Indian film. No other options has shown convincing form. One contender looks finished. Marcus Harris is still inexplicably hanging around, like unwanted guests. Meanwhile their skipper, Pat Cummins, is injured and suddenly this seems like a unusually thin squad, missing authority or balance, the kind of effortless self-assurance that has often put Australia 2-0 up before a game starts.

The Batsman’s Revival

Step forward Marnus: a top-ranked Test batsman as just two years ago, recently omitted from the ODI side, the perfect character to return structure to a fragile lineup. And we are informed this is a more relaxed and thoughtful Labuschagne now: a pared-down, no-frills Labuschagne, no longer as extremely focused with minor adjustments. “It seems I’ve really cut out extras,” he said after his hundred. “Not really too technical, just what I must bat effectively.”

Naturally, this is doubted. Probably this is a rebrand that exists only in Labuschagne’s mind: still constantly refining that approach from morning to night, going deeper into fundamentals than anyone else would try. Prefer simplicity? Marnus will devote weeks in the practice sessions with coaches and video clips, exhaustively remoulding himself into the least technical batter that has ever been seen. That’s the trait of the obsessed, and the characteristic that has consistently made Labuschagne one of the highly engaging sportsmen in the cricket.

The Broader Picture

Perhaps before this very open England-Australia contest, there is even a kind of appealing difference to Labuschagne’s constant dedication. On England’s side we have a side for whom any kind of analysis, especially personal critique, is a kind of dangerous taboo. Trust your gut. Focus on the present. Embrace the current.

On the opposite side you have a player such as Labuschagne, a individual utterly absorbed with cricket and totally indifferent by others’ opinions, who finds cricket even in the spaces between the cricket, who treats this absurd sport with exactly the level of absurd reverence it requires.

This approach succeeded. During his intense period – from the time he walked out to replace a concussed Smith at the famous ground in 2019 to until late 2022 – Labuschagne found a way to see the game with greater insight. To reach it – through pure determination – on a higher, weirder, more frenzied level. During his stint in English county cricket, colleagues noticed him on the morning of a game positioned on a seat in a trance-like state, mentally rehearsing each delivery of his innings. According to cricket statisticians, during the early stages of his career a statistically unfathomable proportion of catches were missed when he batted. Remarkably Labuschagne had anticipated outcomes before others could react 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 new heights to imagine, just a boundless, uncharted void before his eyes. Also – to be fair – he lost faith in his favorite stroke, got unable to move forward and seemed to lose awareness of his stumps. But it’s part of the same issue. Meanwhile his coach, Neil D’Costa, reckons a attention to shorter formats started to erode confidence in his technique. Good news: he’s now excluded from the 50-over squad.

Surely it matters, too, that Labuschagne is a strongly faithful person, an evangelical Christian who thinks that this is all preordained, who thus sees his job as one of reaching this optimal zone, no matter how mysterious it may appear to the ordinary people.

This, to my mind, has consistently been the key distinction between him and the other batsman, a inherently talented player