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Marnus carefully spreads butter on the top and bottom of a slice of soft bread. “That’s the secret,” he states as he closes the lid of his toastie maker. “Perfect. Then you get it toasted on both sides.” He lifts the lid to reveal a golden square of delicious perfection, the gooey cheese happily sizzling within. “Here’s the trick of the trade,” he explains. At which point, he does something horrific and unspeakable.

At this stage, it’s clear a sense of disinterest is beginning to cover your eyes. The warning signs of overly fancy prose are blinking intensely. You’re likely conscious that Labuschagne scored 160 for Queensland this week and is being widely discussed for an national team comeback before the Ashes.

You probably want to read more about cricket matters. But first – you now realise with an anguished sigh – you’re going to have to sit through a section of wobbling whimsy about toasted sandwiches, plus an further tangential section of overly analytical commentary in the direct address. You feel resigned.

Marnus transfers the sandwich on to a plate and moves toward the fridge. “It’s uncommon,” he announces, “but I actually like the cold toastie. There, in the fridge. You get that cheese to harden up, go bat, come back. Alright. Sandwich is perfect.”

On-Field Matters

Look, to cut to the chase. How about we cover the cricket bit out of the way first? Quick update for making it this far. And while there may still be six weeks until the series opener, Labuschagne’s hundred against the Tasmanian side – his third of the summer in all cricket – feels quietly decisive.

We have an Australian top order badly short of form and structure, revealed against South Africa in the WTC final, highlighted further in the following Caribbean tour. Labuschagne was left out during that trip, but on one hand you felt Australia were desperate to rehabilitate him at the earliest chance. Now he seems to have given them the perfect excuse.

This represents a strategy Australia must implement. Usman Khawaja has a single hundred in his past 44 innings. The young batsman looks not quite a first-innings batsman and closer to the handsome actor who might play a Test opener in a Bollywood epic. Other candidates has presented a strong argument. One contender looks out of form. Marcus Harris is still oddly present, like dust or mold. Meanwhile their leader, Cummins, is injured and suddenly this feels like a weirdly lightweight side, lacking authority or balance, the kind of effortless self-assurance that has often put Australia 2-0 up before a match begins.

The Batsman’s Revival

Enter Marnus: a leading Test player as just two years ago, recently omitted from the ODI side, the right person to bring stability to a shaky team. And we are informed this is a more relaxed and thoughtful Labuschagne currently: a pared-down, back-to-basics Labuschagne, less extremely focused with technical minutiae. “I feel like I’ve really stripped it back,” he said after his century. “Less focused on technique, just what I need to score runs.”

Of course, this is doubted. Probably this is a rebrand that exists only in Labuschagne’s own head: still constantly refining that technique from all day, going further toward simplicity than anyone else would try. Like basic approach? Marnus will devote weeks in the nets with coaches and video clips, completely transforming into the most basic batsman that has ever been seen. This is just the quality of the focused, and the trait that has always made Labuschagne one of the most wildly absorbing players in the sport.

The Broader Picture

Perhaps before this very open Ashes series, there is even a type of appealing difference to Labuschagne’s constant dedication. On England’s side we have a team for whom technical study, let alone self-analysis, is a kind of dangerous taboo. Feel the flavours. Stay in the moment. Live in the instant.

For Australia you have a individual like Labuschagne, a individual terminally obsessed with the sport and wonderfully unconcerned by others’ opinions, who observes cricket even in the gaps in the game, who approaches this quirky game with exactly the level of absurd reverence it requires.

And it worked. During his intense period – from the instant he appeared to replace a concussed Steve Smith at Lord’s Cricket Ground in 2019 to through 2022 – Labuschagne found a way to see the game more deeply. To access it – through sheer intensity of will – on a different, unusual, intense plane. During his stint in English county cricket, teammates would find him on the game day positioned on a seat in a focused mindset, literally visualising each delivery of his time at the crease. Per cricket statisticians, during the early stages of his career a surprisingly high number of chances were missed when he batted. Remarkably Labuschagne had intuited what would happen before fielders could respond to change it.

Current Struggles

Perhaps this was why his form started to decline the moment he reached the summit. There were no worlds left to visualise, just a boundless, uncharted void before his eyes. Additionally – he began doubting his cover drive, got trapped on the crease and seemed to lose awareness of his stumps. But it’s part of the same issue. Meanwhile his coach, his coach, reckons a emphasis on limited-overs started to weaken assurance in his positioning. Positive development: he’s now excluded from the 50-over squad.

Surely it matters, too, that Labuschagne is a man of deep religious faith, an committed Christian who thinks that this is all basically written out in advance, who thus sees his job as one of accessing this state of flow, despite being puzzling it may look to the rest of us.

This, to my mind, has always been the primary contrast between him and Steve Smith, a more naturally gifted player