Brisbane, Aug 6 (IANS) Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne admitted that a desperate search for runs made him ‘greedy’ at the crease during his recent lean patch in Tests. At the same time, he expressed confidence that an unprecedented eight-week hiatus has allowed him to reset his technique ahead of the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh.
Labuschagne, 32, has failed to reach three figures in his last 22 matches for Australia since his ton during the 2023 Ashes. Despite this pressure and Australia set to begin a rigorous 12-month schedule, Labuschagne is expected to retain his number three spot in the first Test starting in Darwin next Thursday.
“Sitting here now after eight weeks, being able to go back to my fundamentals and spending hours and hours on my game and the simple things. It’s something that I definitely needed, when you’re on the road playing for the last seven or eight years straight.
“This is the longest break I’ve had. It’s hard to find long-term solutions in such a short time frame when you’ve only got three weeks between tours and things like that,” Labuschagne told reporters at the team’s ongoing training camp on Thursday.
Reflecting on his prolonged slump, the former world number one Test batter admitted that anxiety over a lack of runs often compounded his problems on the field. “When you’ve missed out a few times, you get a little greedy and start searching for runs instead of letting the game come to you.
“There’s 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 and you revert back to what you’ve been doing. You never get off that cycle until you have a little gap, so it’s been really nice to go back and find my best form and what it looks like for me.
“The preparation for the past five weeks here with Australia has been great for that and hopefully we can see the results off the back of all the hard work,” he added.
–IANS
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