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The Australian batsman methodically applies butter on each surface of a slice of soft bread. “That’s the key,” he tells the camera as he lowers the lid of his toastie maker. “There you go. Then you get it crisp on both sides.” He opens the grill to reveal a golden square of delicious perfection, the melted cheese happily sizzling within. “Here’s the secret method,” he declares. At which point, he does something horrific and unspeakable.

By now, I sense a sense of disinterest is beginning to appear in your eyes. The alarm bells of sportswriting pretension are blinking intensely. You’re no doubt informed that Labuschagne hit 160 for Queensland Bulls this week and is being widely discussed for an national team comeback before the Ashes series.

No doubt you’d prefer to read more about cricket matters. But first – you now understand with frustration – you’re going to have to get through a section of playful digression about toasties, plus an further tangential section of self-referential analysis in the “you” perspective. You feel resigned.

Marnus transfers the sandwich on to a plate and moves toward the fridge. “Few try this,” he states, “but I personally prefer the toastie cold. Done, in the fridge. You allow the cheese to set, head to practice, come back. Boom. Toastie’s ready to go.”

On-Field Matters

Alright, here’s the main point. Shall we get the sports aspect to begin with? Small reward for reading until now. And while there may only be six weeks until the series opener, Labuschagne’s century against the Tigers – his third in recent months in all formats – feels importantly timed.

We have an Australian top order clearly missing form and structure, shown up by the Proteas in the WTC final, exposed again in the following Caribbean tour. Labuschagne was dropped during that trip, but on a certain level you sensed 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. Khawaja has one century in his past 44 innings. Konstas looks less like a Test opener and more like the good-looking star who might portray a cricketer in a Bollywood epic. None of the alternatives has made a cogent case. McSweeney looks finished. Another option is still oddly present, like moths or damp. Meanwhile their leader, Pat Cummins, is unfit and suddenly this feels like a unusually thin squad, lacking strength or equilibrium, the kind of built-in belief that has often given Australia a lead before a ball is bowled.

Marnus’s Comeback

Step forward Marnus: a world No 1 Test batter as in the recent past, freshly dropped from the ODI side, the ideal candidate to restore order to a brittle empire. And we are informed this is a composed and reflective Labuschagne these days: a streamlined, back-to-basics Labuschagne, less extremely focused with small details. “I feel like I’ve really cut out extras,” he said after his hundred. “Not really too technical, just what I should make runs.”

Of course, few accept this. Probably this is a rebrand that exists only in Labuschagne’s personal view: still constantly refining that method from morning to night, going further toward simplicity than anyone has ever dared. You want less technical? Marnus will spend months in the practice sessions with advisors and replays, exhaustively remoulding himself into the simplest player that has ever been seen. That’s the nature of the addict, and the characteristic that has long made Labuschagne one of the deeply fascinating players in the game.

The Broader Picture

It could be before this highly uncertain historic rivalry, there is even a kind of interesting contrast to Labuschagne’s constant dedication. On England’s side we have a side for whom detailed examination, especially personal critique, is a kind of dangerous taboo. Feel the flavours. Stay in the moment. Live in the instant.

On the opposite side you have a player such as Labuschagne, a player utterly absorbed with the game and magnificently unbothered by others’ opinions, who observes cricket even in the gaps in the game, who handles this unusual pursuit with just the right measure of odd devotion it demands.

This approach succeeded. During his focused era – from the time he walked out to substitute for an injured Smith at Lord’s in 2019 to until late 2022 – Labuschagne somehow managed to see the game more deeply. To reach it – through absolute focus – on a elevated, strange, passionate tier. During his stint in English county cricket, colleagues noticed him on the day of a match positioned on a seat in a meditative condition, actually imagining every single ball of his time at the crease. As per Cricviz, during the first few years of his career a surprisingly high number of chances were spilled from his batting. Remarkably Labuschagne had predicted events before others could react to affect it.

Current Struggles

It’s possible this was why his form started to decline the point he became number one. There were no new heights to imagine, just a empty space before his eyes. Additionally – he began doubting his signature shot, got stuck in his crease and seemed to misjudge his positioning. But it’s all the same thing. Meanwhile his trainer, his coach, reckons a attention to shorter formats started to erode confidence in his positioning. Encouragingly: he’s just been dropped from the ODI side.

Certainly it’s relevant, 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 accessing this state of flow, despite being puzzling it may seem to the rest of us.

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