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Labuschagne methodically applies butter on the top and bottom of a slice of plain bread. “That’s the key,” he states as he closes the lid of his sandwich grill. “There you go. Then you get it toasted on each side.” He opens the grill to reveal a toasted delight of ideal crispiness, the bubbling cheese happily bubbling away. “And that’s the key technique,” he announces. At which point, he does something shocking and odd.

By now, I sense a glaze of ennui is beginning to appear in your eyes. The red lights of sportswriting pretension are blinking intensely. You’re probably aware that Labuschagne hit 160 for Queensland this week and is being feverishly talked up for an national team comeback before the England-Australia contest.

You likely wish to read more about his performance. But first – you now understand with frustration – you’re going to have to endure several lines of light-hearted musing about toasted sandwiches, plus an extra unwanted bonus paragraph of overly analytical commentary in the “you” perspective. You feel resigned.

Labuschagne flips the sandwich on to a serving plate and heads over the fridge. “Few try this,” he announces, “but I genuinely enjoy the grilled sandwich chilled. Done, in the fridge. You get that cheese to harden up, head to practice, come back. Boom. Toastie’s ready to go.”

Back to Cricket

Okay, to cut to the chase. Shall we get the match details out of the way first? Quick update for making it this far. 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 cricket – feels quietly decisive.

We have an Aussie opening batsmen seriously lacking performance and method, exposed by the Proteas in the WTC final, shown up once more in the West Indies after that. Labuschagne was left out during that tour, but on one hand you gathered Australia were eager to bring him back at the first opportunity. Now he seems to have given them the perfect excuse.

Here is a approach the team should follow. Khawaja has a single hundred in his recent 44 batting efforts. Sam Konstas looks not quite a first-innings batsman and closer to the good-looking star who might play a Test opener in a Bollywood movie. None of the alternatives has made a cogent case. One contender looks finished. Marcus Harris is still inexplicably hanging around, like dust or mold. Meanwhile their skipper, Cummins, is injured and suddenly this seems like a unusually thin squad, lacking command or stability, the kind of natural confidence that has often helped Australia dominate before a match begins.

Marnus’s Comeback

Enter Marnus: a world No 1 Test batter as in the recent past, recently omitted from the 50-over squad, the perfect character to restore order to a fragile lineup. And we are told this is a composed and reflective Labuschagne now: a pared-down, back-to-basics Labuschagne, less maniacally obsessed with minor adjustments. “It seems I’ve really simplified things,” he said after his ton. “Not really too technical, just what I need to make runs.”

Of course, this is doubted. Probably this is a rebrand that exists only in Labuschagne’s own head: still furiously stripping down that method from dawn to dusk, going deeper into fundamentals than anyone else would try. You want less technical? Marnus will devote weeks in the practice sessions with trainers and footage, exhaustively remoulding himself into the most basic batsman that has ever existed. This is just the nature of the addict, and the characteristic that has always made Labuschagne one of the highly engaging sportsmen in the game.

The Broader Picture

Maybe before this very open historic rivalry, there is even a kind of appealing difference to Labuschagne’s constant dedication. On England’s side we have a side for whom any kind of analysis, especially personal critique, is a forbidden topic. Trust your gut. Be where the ball is. Live in the instant.

For Australia you have a individual like Labuschagne, a man completely dedicated with cricket and totally indifferent by others’ opinions, who finds cricket even in the gaps in the game, who treats this absurd sport with exactly the level of absurd reverence it requires.

This approach succeeded. During his shamanic phase – from the moment he strode out to replace a concussed Smith at Lord’s Cricket Ground in 2019 to around the end of 2022 – Labuschagne somehow managed to see the game with greater insight. To reach it – through pure determination – on a higher, weirder, more frenzied level. During his days playing club cricket, fellow players saw him on the day of a match resting on a bench in a trance-like state, literally visualising all balls of his time at the crease. As per cricket statisticians, during the initial period of his career a surprisingly high proportion of catches were spilled from his batting. In some way Labuschagne had anticipated outcomes before fielders could respond to affect it.

Current Struggles

Maybe this was why his form started to decline the time he achieved top ranking. There were no worlds left to visualise, just a boundless, uncharted void before his eyes. Additionally – he began doubting his cover drive, got stuck in his crease and seemed to misjudge his positioning. But it’s connected really. Meanwhile his coach, Neil D’Costa, reckons a attention to shorter formats started to undermine belief in his positioning. Encouragingly: he’s now excluded from the ODI side.

Surely it matters, too, that Labuschagne is a strongly faithful person, an evangelical Christian who thinks that this is all basically written out in advance, who thus sees his role as one of accessing this state of flow, despite being puzzling it may appear to the ordinary people.

This, to my mind, has always been the main point of difference between him and Steve Smith, a more naturally gifted player