Is Marnus Labuschagne the Mr. Bean of cricket?
Cricket has seen some eccentric and extremely funny characters over the years, but it is difficult to beat Marnus Labuschagne when it comes to being extravagantly unconventional. The Australian has the skills to entertain fans and critics alike both with his batting and his unpredictable antics.
The latest chapter from Labuschagne’s school of eccentricity played out during Day 3 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final between Australia and India on Friday when the batter was seen sleeping with his pads on even as he prepared to bat in the team’s second innings.
After opening batter David Warner was dismissed by Mohammed Siraj for 1 in the fourth over, Labuschagne was captured waking up from his slumber, realizing that he had a job to do. He gathered himself and walked out to the middle.
The batter was caught off guard as he copped a couple of blows from Siraj - one on the finger and the other on the body - literally bringing him to his knees. The fiery deliveries woke up the batter for sure.
He gathered his concentration and returned unbeaten on a defiant 41 off 118 balls. In a massive relief for India, he was dismissed without adding to his overnight score on Day 4 of the WTC final.
Earlier, opening up on the funny incident of the cameras catching him napping, the batter told SEN Cricket at the end of Day 3:
“I was just resting my eyes between balls and just relaxing. I was trying to calm my nerves a little bit, you can’t watch the game all the time, I got up there and was awake pretty soon. I didn’t have too many rests there when Siraj banged that first one in.”
His sleeping stunt was not the first time Labuschagne had entertained fans with his offbeat mannerisms. His funny man acts make us wonder whether he can be referred to as the Mr. Bean of cricket.
For the uninitiated, Mr. Bean is an iconic comic character from the British sitcom of the same name, who uses his unusual wit to fulfill everyday tasks!
Here are a few instances which led us to the amusing thought.
Marnus Labuschagne's shorts has a story to tell
Dozing off in the dressing room was not the only hilarious contribution Labuschagne made on Day 3 of the WTC final.
During his innings on Friday, he was seen adjusting his groin guard between overs. While doing so, he also revealed his underpants.
What that is nothing unusual for batters, what caught the attention was the fact that his shorts were actually customized to commemorate Australia's 4-0 Ashes drubbing of England during the 2021-2022 series.
Marnus the repair man
Earlier this year, the maverick Australian batter was seen calling for a cigarette lighter to fix his helmet. The bizarre incident occurred on Day 1 of the third Test in Sydney in January.
Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja were having a good partnership and during the course of the stand, the former left fans and critics in splits when he gestured towards the dressing room for a cigarette lighter.
Running repairs for Marnus Labuschagne! 🚬
#AUSvSA https://t.co/IdSl0PqicV
Labuschagne’s bizarre request was entertained and a lighter was brought onto the field. The batter used the same to make some repairs to his helmet and carried on batting without much fuss!
“Well played man" - When Marnus Labuschagne praised himself
We have often seen instances of sportsmanship where batters or bowlers have praised the other over a good stroke or a good delivery. Labuschagne, on the other hand, believes in self-praise.
During the second Ashes Test of the 2021-22 series in Adelaide, the No.1-ranked Test batter was heard praising himself after ducking a bouncer from England pacer Ben Stokes.
The stump mic picked up the Aussie batter as telling himself after negotiating the short ball:
"Well played man."
🎙🎙🎙
#Ashes https://t.co/KNGhibosE5
Labuschagne’s self-encouragement bore fruit as he ended up scoring a magnificent 103 off 305 balls, spending 405 minutes at the crease during which he struck eight fours. Australia posted 473/9 declared in their first innings and went on to win the Test by 275 runs.
We hope Marnus Labuschagne keeps entertaining us with his bat and his wit!