Marnus Labuschagne slams 3rd century across formats in 4 innings
What's the story
Marnus Labuschagne, the Australian cricketer who was dropped from the Test squad for July's West Indies series, is making a strong case for his recall. The 31-year-old top-order batter scored his third century in four innings while playing for Queensland. He made an impressive 105 off just 91 balls against Tasmania in a One-Day Cup match. This performance comes just three days after he had scored a whopping 160 against the same team in Australia's red-ball competition, Sheffield Shield.
Performance review
Labuschagne shines in List A cricket for Queensland
Labuschagne's recent performances have been nothing short of stellar. He had also scored 130 off 118 balls in Queensland's One-Day Cup opener against Victoria in September. The top-order batter backed it up now with an impressive 105 against Tasmania. This is now his 5th century in List A cricket. In 116 matches, he owns 3,603 runs at 35.67. His knock against Tasmania had 11 fours and 2 sixes.
Recent omissions
ODI squad snub and Test performance concerns
Australia had left Labuschagne out of their squad for this month's ODI series against India, opting for top-order batter Matthew Renshaw instead. The cricketer hasn't scored a Test century since July 2023, when he made 111 against England. He has averaged just 24.74 in the format since then. Despite these numbers, Labuschagne remains optimistic about his chances of making it back into the Australian Test squad for the upcoming Ashes series starting November 21 in Perth.
Strategy shift
Simplifying the game for success
Labuschagne credits his recent form to simplifying his game. "I felt good out there," he said to reporters after his Shield century against Tasmania. "I feel like I've really stripped it back and my focus is just scoring runs. It's not really too technical - just what I need out there to score runs." England has already announced their Ashes squad, but Australia is likely to reveal theirs closer to the first Test date.
Information
Over 12,000 runs in FC cricket
Recently, with a knock of 160 against Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield, Labuschagne surpassed 12,000 runs in FC cricket. He has scored 12,083 runs from 167 matches (294 innings). He averages 44.75. He has 33 tons and 60 fifties.