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Marnus methodically applies butter on both sides of a slice of white bread. “That’s essential,” he states as he lowers the lid of his grilled cheese press. “Perfect. Then you get it crisp on the outside.” He opens the grill to reveal a perfectly browned of pure toasted goodness, the gooey cheese happily melting inside. “So this is the key technique,” he announces. At which point, he does something unexpected and strange.

By now, it’s clear a layer of boredom is beginning to cover your eyes. The red lights of elaborate writing are going off. You’re no doubt informed that Labuschagne made 160 runs for Queensland this week and is being widely discussed for an national team comeback 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 light-hearted musing about toasted sandwiches, plus an additional unnecessary part of self-referential analysis in the second person. You groan once more.

He turns the sandwich on to a dish and walks across the fridge. “Few try this,” he remarks, “but I personally prefer the cold toastie. Boom, in the fridge. You get that cheese to harden up, head to practice, come back. Boom. Sandwich is perfect.”

Back to Cricket

Look, here’s the main point. Shall we get the sports aspect initially? Quick update for reading until now. And while there may still be six weeks until the first Test, Labuschagne’s century against the Tigers – his third this season in all formats – feels significantly impactful.

We have an Australian top order clearly missing consistency and technique, revealed against the South African team in the World Test Championship final, shown up once more in the Caribbean afterwards. Labuschagne was dropped during that series, but on one hand you gathered Australia were eager to bring him back at the earliest chance. Now he appears 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. Konstas looks not quite a Test match opener and more like the handsome actor who might act as a batsman in a Indian film. None of the alternatives has made a cogent case. One contender looks out of form. Marcus Harris is still surprisingly included, like dust or mold. Meanwhile their skipper, Cummins, is hurt and suddenly this appears as a unusually thin squad, lacking strength or equilibrium, the kind of built-in belief that has often given Australia a lead before a game starts.

Labuschagne’s Return

Here comes Labuschagne: a leading Test player as just two years ago, recently omitted from the one-day team, the right person to return structure to a fragile lineup. And we are told this is a composed and reflective Labuschagne now: a pared-down, back-to-basics Labuschagne, no longer as intensely fixated with small details. “I feel like I’ve really cut out extras,” he said after his hundred. “Not overthinking, just what I should make runs.”

Of course, few accept this. In all likelihood this is a rebrand that exists just in Labuschagne’s mind: still constantly refining that method from dawn to dusk, going more back to basics than anyone has ever dared. You want less technical? Marnus will spend months in the nets with coaches and video clips, completely transforming into the simplest player that has ever played. That’s the trait of the obsessed, and the quality that has always made Labuschagne one of the most wildly absorbing cricketers in the cricket.

Bigger Scene

Perhaps before this very open England-Australia contest, there is even a type of interesting contrast to Labuschagne’s unquenchable obsession. For England we have a squad for whom any kind of analysis, especially personal critique, is a risky subject. Go with instinct. Be where the ball is. Smell the now.

On the opposite side you have a player such as Labuschagne, a man completely dedicated with the game and wonderfully unconcerned by who knows about it, who observes cricket even in the gaps in the game, who handles this unusual pursuit with just the right measure of odd devotion it requires.

And it worked. During his focused era – from the instant he appeared to substitute for an injured Steve Smith at the famous ground in 2019 to around the end of 2022 – Labuschagne somehow managed to see the game on another level. To access it – through pure determination – on a elevated, strange, passionate tier. During his time with English county cricket, fellow players saw him on the day of a match resting on a bench in a meditative condition, mentally rehearsing every single ball of his batting stint. Per the analytics firm, during the initial period of his career a unusually large proportion of catches were dropped off his bat. In some way Labuschagne had predicted events before anyone had a chance to affect it.

Form Issues

It’s possible this was why his performance dipped the point he became number one. There were no further goals to picture, just a empty space before his eyes. Also – to be fair – he stopped trusting his favorite stroke, got stuck in his crease and seemed to lose awareness of his stumps. But it’s all the same thing. Meanwhile his mentor, D’Costa, thinks a attention to shorter formats started to erode confidence in his alignment. Positive development: he’s now excluded from the 50-over squad.

No doubt it’s important, too, that Labuschagne is a man of deep religious faith, an evangelical Christian who thinks that this is all preordained, who thus sees his task as one of reaching this optimal zone, however enigmatic and inexplicable it may seem to the ordinary people.

This, to my mind, has always been the main point of difference between him and Steve Smith, a more naturally gifted player