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The Australian batsman methodically applies butter on each surface of a slice of plain bread. “That’s essential,” he explains as he brings down the lid of his grilled cheese press. “Boom. Then you get it golden on both sides.” He checks inside to reveal a perfectly browned of pure toasted goodness, the bubbling cheese happily bubbling away. “And that’s the secret method,” he announces. At which point, he does something unexpected and strange.

At this stage, I sense a layer of boredom is beginning to cover your eyes. The alarm bells of overly fancy prose are flashing wildly. You’re probably aware that Labuschagne hit 160 for Queensland this week and is being feverishly talked up for an Australian Test recall before the Ashes.

You likely wish to read more about cricket matters. But first – you now grasp with irritation – you’re going to have to sit through several lines of wobbling whimsy about toasties, plus an additional unnecessary part of overly analytical commentary in the “you” perspective. You feel resigned.

He turns the sandwich on to a plate and heads over the fridge. “Not many people do this,” he remarks, “but I personally prefer the cold toastie. There, in the fridge. You get that cheese to harden up, go for a hit, come back. Alright. Toastie’s ready to go.”

On-Field Matters

Okay, to cut to the chase. Shall we get the sports aspect out of the way first? Small reward for making it this far. And while there may only be six weeks until the initial match, Labuschagne’s hundred against the Tigers – his third of the summer in various games – feels quietly decisive.

We have an Australia top three seriously lacking form and structure, shown up by South Africa in the Test championship decider, highlighted further in the following Caribbean tour. Labuschagne was omitted during that tour, but on some level you gathered Australia were keen to restore him at the soonest moment. Now he seems to have given them the ideal reason.

This represents a plan that Australia need to work. Khawaja has just one 100 in his last 44 knocks. Sam Konstas looks hardly a Test opener and more like the attractive performer who might act as a batsman in a Bollywood movie. None of the alternatives has presented a strong argument. Nathan McSweeney looks finished. Another option is still oddly present, like dust or mold. Meanwhile their leader, the pace bowler, is unfit and suddenly this feels like a surprisingly weak team, missing authority or balance, the kind of effortless self-assurance that has often helped Australia dominate before a match begins.

The Batsman’s Revival

Step forward Marnus: a world No 1 Test batter as just two years ago, freshly dropped from the ODI side, the ideal candidate to restore order to a shaky team. And we are told this is a more relaxed and thoughtful Labuschagne currently: a pared-down, no-frills Labuschagne, less extremely focused with minor adjustments. “I feel like I’ve really cut out extras,” he said after his century. “Not really too technical, just what I need to score runs.”

Clearly, nobody truly believes this. Most likely this is a new approach that exists just in Labuschagne’s mind: still endlessly adjusting that technique from dawn to dusk, going more back to basics than any player has attempted. Prefer simplicity? Marnus will spend months in the training with coaches and video clips, exhaustively remoulding himself into the least technical batter that has ever played. That’s the nature of the addict, and the trait that has consistently made Labuschagne one of the deeply fascinating sportsmen in the sport.

Wider Context

Maybe before this very open England-Australia contest, there is even a kind of appealing difference to Labuschagne’s constant dedication. On England’s side we have a side for whom detailed examination, especially personal critique, is a forbidden topic. Trust your gut. Stay in the moment. Smell the now.

For Australia you have a player such as Labuschagne, a man completely dedicated with the sport and totally indifferent by who knows about it, who sees cricket even in the gaps in the game, who approaches this quirky game with precisely the amount of quirky respect it requires.

This approach succeeded. During his shamanic phase – from the moment he strode out to come in for a hurt the senior batsman at Lord’s Cricket Ground in 2019 to around the end of 2022 – Labuschagne somehow managed to see the game with greater insight. To tap into it – through absolute focus – on a elevated, strange, passionate tier. During his stint in English county cricket, fellow players saw him on the game day resting on a bench in a focused mindset, mentally rehearsing all balls of his time at the crease. Per cricket statisticians, during the first few years of his career a statistically unfathomable proportion of catches were missed when he batted. Somehow Labuschagne had anticipated outcomes before fielders could respond to influence it.

Recent Challenges

Perhaps this was why his form started to decline the moment he reached the summit. There were no new heights to imagine, just a boundless, uncharted void before his eyes. Furthermore – he began doubting his cover drive, got trapped on the crease and seemed to misjudge his positioning. But it’s all the same thing. Meanwhile his coach, Neil D’Costa, reckons a emphasis on limited-overs started to erode confidence in his alignment. Good news: he’s recently omitted from the one-day team.

No doubt it’s important, too, that Labuschagne is a devoutly religious individual, an evangelical Christian who holds that this is all preordained, who thus sees his job as one of accessing this state of flow, no matter how mysterious it may seem to the rest of us.

This, to my mind, has consistently been the key distinction between him and Steve Smith, a inherently talented player