Marnus Labuschagne is the missing puzzle piece Australia had been aching for
The summer of 2019 turned out pretty well for the cricket enthusiasts thanks to the mind-boggling drama of the historic Ashes series. Ashes 2019 turned out to be a spectacle as the two arch-rivals played out a sensational 5-match series which ended in a 2-2 draw as a result to which Australia retained the urn. The Aussies managed to keep hold of the urn on English soil and the Australian cricket supporters were ecstatic upon their side's remarkable performance.
Steve Smith was utterly magnificent with the bat and Pat Cummins was the same with the ball. But there was one other man who surprised many with his impressive performances and that man was Marnus Labuschagne. The classy Australian truly announced himself on the international stage and it won't be wrong to say that his contributions in Australia's successful quest to retain the Ashes were massive. England were wary of Smith's threat with the bat but what they didn't expect was Labuschagne's brilliance considering this was his first Ashes series and that too on English soil.
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If Ashes 2019 was impressive then what followed is simply breathtaking! Labuschagne has been on fire and the numbers truly support this argument to perfection. In his brief career, he has 1459 runs in 14 Tests at an average of 63.59 with 4 hundreds and 8 fiftes. These numbers are testament to the fact that Australia have now found the missing piece to complete their puzzle and that piece goes by the name of Marnus Labuschagne.
Avid fans of Australian cricket will certainly agree to the fact that the major concern in their Test setup was a reliable middle-order batsman. Steve Smith is one of the greatest cricketers of his generation but great sides don't circle around just one player which is why there was a dire need of a run-machine in the side. Australia's Test set-up now seems a lot more complete with Labuschagne's addition. The side was blessed with the firepower of David Warner, the masterclass of Steve Smith and the fearsome bowling attack of Pat Cummins, Nathon Lyon, and Mitchell Starc, but there was a missing link- a textbook batsman who could anchor the innings in the testing waters, a calm head in the middle and they received exactly that in Labuschagne who has performed incredibly and is in red hot form right now.
He had been a thorn in the Kiwis' back in the recently concluded Trans-Tasmanian Test series between Australia and New Zealand. His deeds with the bat helped the Aussies whitewash their rivals as they secured a 3-0 series with the Queenslander ending the series as the top run-scorer on either side.
All in all, with Labuschagne in their ranks, the future looks bright for Australia in the longer format of the game.
Also read: The meteoric rise of Marnus Labuschagne