Australian cricketer and former World No. 1 Test batter Marnus Labuschagne, who is looking to make a comeback in the Test team after being dropped ahead of the West Indies series, said he would be “happy” to open for the national team if that’s the way forward for him to return to the side.
“If you had asked me where I prefer to bat, obviously I have batted at three my whole career, but at this stage you don’t get a choice,” Labuschagne admitted to News Corp. “I opened in the World Test Championship final and felt I batted quite well. I got in but did not go on with it. I would be happy to do that (open batting). I would love to. If opener is where I need to bat to be playing in the Test team, that’s fine,” he added.
Labuschagne has three Sheffield Shield matches at his disposal to prove a point to the selectors. “It was tough because you never want to be dropped. But almost as soon as their (selectors’) words came out my mind shifted straight away to, ‘Okay, how am I playing the Ashes … how do I make that happen?’,” he said.
After being left out of the Australian team, Labuschagne had an opportunity to sit back and reflect on his game. “This has given me an opportunity to reflect and not having the pressure of the media saying, ‘Marnus has got to go’. I mean that’s part of the game. There is a tipping point but it’s something I thrive on… proving the doubters wrong and being able to find a way. Missing those West Indies Tests gave me the chance to back and think, ‘This is where I want to be and this is how I’m going to get there’,” he said.
Earlier, there were speculations in the Australian press and by the former Australian players that Labuschagne might not make it for the Ashes series owing to poor form, but Steve Smith had then thrown his weight behind the out-of-favour middle-order batsman.
“At his best, he’s as good as anyone in the world and I’ve no doubt he’ll get back there. He’s actually in a pretty good place. I think I said it after the last game – I thought he batted really well in the World Test Championship Final without going on to make a big score,” Smith had told SEN Radio.
