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Labuschagne methodically applies butter on both sides of a slice of plain bread. “That’s essential,” he explains as he closes the lid of his toastie maker. “Perfect. Then you get it crisp on the outside.” He checks inside to reveal a golden square of delicious perfection, the melted cheese happily bubbling away. “So this is the trick of the trade,” he explains. At which point, he does something shocking and odd.

At this stage, it’s clear a layer of boredom is beginning to cover your eyes. The red lights of overly fancy prose are going off. You’re likely conscious that Labuschagne hit 160 for Queensland this week and is being widely discussed for an national team comeback before the England-Australia contest.

You likely wish to read more about that. But first – you now realise with an anguished sigh – you’re going to have to endure a section of wobbling whimsy about toasties, plus an extra unwanted bonus paragraph of self-referential analysis in the second person. You sigh again.

He turns the sandwich on to a plate and heads over the fridge. “Not many people do this,” he remarks, “but I actually like the grilled sandwich chilled. Boom, in the fridge. You get that cheese to harden up, go for a hit, come back. Alright. Toastie’s ready to go.”

Back to Cricket

Look, let’s try it like this. How about we cover the cricket bit to begin with? Quick update for making it this far. And while there may only be six weeks until the series opener, Labuschagne’s 100 runs against Tasmania – his third this season in all cricket – feels quietly decisive.

This is an Aussie opening batsmen badly short of performance and method, shown up by South Africa in the World Test Championship final, highlighted further in the West Indies after that. Labuschagne was left out during that tour, but on a certain level you sensed Australia were keen to restore him at the first opportunity. Now he appears to have given them the ideal reason.

And this is a plan that Australia need to work. Khawaja has a single hundred in his past 44 innings. Sam Konstas looks not quite a Test match opener and rather like the handsome actor who might play a Test opener in a Bollywood epic. None of the alternatives has shown convincing form. One contender looks finished. Marcus Harris is still inexplicably hanging around, like unwanted guests. Meanwhile their skipper, the pace bowler, is unfit and suddenly this seems like a unusually thin squad, missing command or stability, the kind of natural confidence that has often given Australia a lead before a match begins.

The Batsman’s Revival

Step forward Marnus: a leading Test player as recently as 2023, just left out from the 50-over squad, the ideal candidate to restore order to a fragile lineup. And we are informed this is a composed and reflective Labuschagne these days: a pared-down, no-frills Labuschagne, no longer as maniacally obsessed with technical minutiae. “I believe I have really cut out extras,” he said after his century. “Not overthinking, just what I need to make runs.”

Of course, few accept this. Probably this is a rebrand that exists only in Labuschagne’s mind: still constantly refining that technique from all day, going deeper into fundamentals than anyone has ever dared. Prefer simplicity? Marnus will spend months in the training with coaches and video clips, completely transforming into the least technical batter that has ever existed. That’s the trait of the obsessed, and the trait that has always made Labuschagne one of the most wildly absorbing sportsmen in the sport.

Wider Context

Maybe before this highly uncertain historic rivalry, there is even a sort of appealing difference to Labuschagne’s constant dedication. In England we have a squad for whom technical study, especially personal critique, is a kind of dangerous taboo. Go with instinct. Be where the ball is. Smell the now.

For Australia you have a batsman like Labuschagne, a man terminally obsessed with cricket and totally indifferent by who knows about it, who sees cricket even in the gaps in the game, who handles this unusual pursuit with precisely the amount of absurd reverence it requires.

This approach succeeded. During his intense period – from the moment he strode out to replace a concussed Smith at Lord’s Cricket Ground in 2019 to through 2022 – Labuschagne somehow managed to see the game on another level. To access it – through pure determination – on a elevated, strange, passionate tier. During his days playing Kent league cricket, fellow players saw him on the day of a match positioned on a seat in a focused mindset, mentally rehearsing each delivery of his innings. According to Cricviz, during the early stages of his career a unusually large proportion of catches were dropped off his bat. In some way Labuschagne had anticipated outcomes before anyone had a chance to affect it.

Recent Challenges

Maybe this was why his form started to decline the time he achieved top ranking. There were no new heights to imagine, just a empty space before his eyes. Additionally – he stopped trusting his cover drive, got stuck in his crease and seemed to misjudge his positioning. But it’s part of the same issue. Meanwhile his trainer, Neil D’Costa, thinks a emphasis on limited-overs started to weaken assurance in his technique. Positive development: he’s just been dropped from the ODI side.

Certainly it’s relevant, too, that Labuschagne is a strongly faithful person, an evangelical Christian who holds that this is all predetermined, who thus sees his job as one of achieving this peak performance, however enigmatic and inexplicable it may seem to the mortal of us.

This mindset, to my mind, has consistently been the main point of difference between him and the other batsman, a inherently talented player