Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne is optimistic and well-prepared ahead of the two-match home Test series against Bangladesh, starting August 13. The Tests will be held in Darwin and Mackay.
Labuschagne will continue his pursuit of a Test century, having not reached triple figures in the last 20 Tests since his century against England at The Oval in July 2023.
Since then, he has scored 905 runs across 38 innings at an average of 26.61, including nine half-centuries and a highest score of 90. Labuschagne, formerly the world number one Test batter, aims to secure the number three spot in the batting order and is targeting a strong performance in the upcoming series.
Speaking to ICC, Labuschagne described the break before this series as the “longest break he has had” and noted that, despite attempting to make adjustments, he ran out of time to fully commit to changes. He said: “It is certainly very important to start these two Tests well.”
He added: “When you are on the road playing for probably the last seven or eight years straight, this is the longest break I have had. There have been times where I’ve tried to get things in order, but I just run out of time to fully commit to those small changes.”
Labuschagne expressed satisfaction with his recent preparation: “It has been really nice to go back and find my best form and what it looks like for me to play at my best. The preparation over the last few weeks here with Australia has been great for that. Hopefully we can see the results off the back of all the hard work.”
Although he struggled for runs in Test matches, Labuschagne found more success in Sheffield Shield cricket, scoring 525 runs in 14 innings at an average of 37.50, including two centuries and one fifty. He enters the series after a below-average One Day International (ODI) run against Pakistan and Bangladesh, managing only one fifty in six innings and a total of 109 runs.
Labuschagne acknowledged recent concerns over run-scoring volume but stated he is now more open-minded about his approach. “When you have missed out a few times, you get a little greedy and start searching for runs, and you are not letting the game come to you,” he said. “It is really important for me to not get too invested in the runs. We want the runs, but we want the process and that is what I am looking for.”
He continued: “The runs will come as the journey goes on if I keep trusting my game. I think that is what I did really well through that period that I went really well. I trusted my game, trusted how I went about batting, reading the game and understanding what the team needed from me in that moment. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Australia currently leads the World Test Championship standings, while Bangladesh is fourth.
Australia’s Test squad for the Bangladesh series includes: Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, and Beau Webster.
The series schedule is as follows: First Test from August 13 to 17 in Darwin, and Second Test from August 22 to 26 in Mackay.