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Marnus carefully spreads butter on each surface of a slice of white bread. “That’s the secret,” he tells the camera as he closes the lid of his toastie maker. “There you go. Then you get it toasted on each side.” He opens the grill to reveal a golden square of pure toasted goodness, the gooey cheese happily sizzling within. “Here’s the trick of the trade,” he declares. At which point, he does something shocking and odd.

Already, I sense a sense of disinterest is beginning to appear in your eyes. The warning signs of sportswriting pretension are going off. You’re probably aware that Labuschagne made 160 runs for his state team this week and is being eagerly promoted for an national team comeback before the England-Australia contest.

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 a section of wobbling whimsy about toasties, plus an further tangential section of overly analytical commentary in the “you” perspective. You groan once more.

Labuschagne flips the sandwich on to a serving plate and moves toward the fridge. “It’s uncommon,” he states, “but I actually like the cold toastie. There, in the fridge. You get that cheese to harden up, go bat, come back. Boom. Sandwich is perfect.”

On-Field Matters

Look, to cut to the chase. Let’s address the cricket bit out of the way first? Little treat for your patience. And while there may still be six weeks until the series opener, Labuschagne’s century against the Tigers – his third in recent months in all formats – feels quietly decisive.

Here’s an Aussie opening batsmen seriously lacking consistency and technique, exposed by South Africa in the WTC final, exposed again in the following Caribbean tour. Labuschagne was omitted during that trip, but on some level you sensed Australia were desperate to rehabilitate him at the first opportunity. Now he seems to have given them the right opportunity.

Here is a strategy Australia must implement. Usman Khawaja has one century in his recent 44 batting efforts. Konstas looks not quite a Test opener and closer to the good-looking star who might portray a cricketer in a Bollywood movie. No other options has shown convincing form. One contender looks out of form. Another option is still oddly present, like dust or mold. Meanwhile their leader, Pat Cummins, is unfit and suddenly this feels like a unusually thin squad, short of authority or balance, the kind of natural confidence that has often put Australia 2-0 up before a ball is bowled.

The Batsman’s Revival

Enter Marnus: a leading Test player as just two years ago, just left out from the 50-over squad, the right person to restore order to a shaky team. And we are told this is a calmer and more meditative Labuschagne these days: a simplified, fundamental-focused Labuschagne, no longer as extremely focused with small details. “I feel like I’ve really cut out extras,” he said after his ton. “Not overthinking, just what I need to make runs.”

Of course, few accept this. Most likely this is a fresh image that exists only in Labuschagne’s own head: still furiously stripping down that technique from all day, going more back to basics than any player has attempted. Prefer simplicity? Marnus will spend months in the practice sessions with trainers and footage, completely transforming into the simplest player that has ever played. This is simply the trait of the obsessed, and the quality that has always made Labuschagne one of the highly engaging players in the sport.

Wider Context

Maybe before this very open England-Australia contest, there is even a sort of appealing difference to Labuschagne’s endless focus. On England’s side we have a team for whom technical study, not to mention self-review, is a forbidden topic. Feel the flavours. Be where the ball is. Embrace the current.

On the opposite side you have a batsman like Labuschagne, a individual terminally obsessed with the sport and wonderfully unconcerned by public perception, who observes cricket even in the gaps in the game, who approaches this quirky game with just the right measure of odd devotion it requires.

And it worked. During his shamanic phase – from the moment he strode out to come in for a hurt the senior batsman at the famous ground in 2019 to until late 2022 – Labuschagne was able to see the game more deeply. To reach it – through pure determination – on a different, unusual, intense plane. During his time with club cricket, fellow players saw him on the morning of a game resting on a bench in a focused mindset, mentally rehearsing each delivery of his innings. According to cricket statisticians, during the initial period of his career a statistically unfathomable number of chances were missed when he batted. In some way Labuschagne had predicted events before fielders could respond to influence it.

Recent Challenges

It’s possible this was why his career began to disintegrate the moment he reached the summit. There were no new heights to imagine, just a unknown territory before his eyes. Additionally – he began doubting his cover drive, got stuck in his crease and seemed to forget where his off-stump was. But it’s part of the same issue. Meanwhile his coach, D’Costa, thinks a attention to shorter formats started to erode confidence in his technique. Good news: he’s just been dropped from the one-day team.

Certainly it’s relevant, too, that Labuschagne is a man of deep religious faith, an religious believer who thinks that this is all predetermined, who thus sees his task as one of accessing this state of flow, no matter how mysterious it may look to the ordinary people.

This mindset, to my mind, has always been the primary contrast between him and Smith, a instinctive player