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Marnus evenly coats butter on the top and bottom of a slice of plain bread. “That’s the secret,” he explains as he closes the lid of his toastie maker. “Boom. Then you get it toasted on both sides.” He lifts the lid to reveal a perfectly browned of delicious perfection, the gooey cheese happily sizzling within. “So this is the secret method,” he announces. At which point, he does something horrific and unspeakable.

Already, I sense a layer of boredom is beginning to form across your eyes. The warning signs of elaborate writing are blinking intensely. You’re likely conscious that Labuschagne hit 160 for his state team this week and is being eagerly promoted for an national team comeback before the Ashes.

You probably want to read more about his performance. But first – you now understand with frustration – you’re going to have to endure three paragraphs of wobbling whimsy about toasted sandwiches, plus an additional unnecessary part of overly analytical commentary in the “you” perspective. You groan once more.

Marnus transfers the sandwich on to a plate and moves toward the fridge. “It’s uncommon,” he remarks, “but I genuinely enjoy the cold toastie. There, in the fridge. You allow the cheese to set, go for a hit, come back. Perfect. Sandwich is perfect.”

On-Field Matters

Alright, let’s try it like this. Shall we get the cricket bit out of the way first? Little treat for reading until now. And while there may still be six weeks until the series opener, Labuschagne’s hundred against the Tasmanian side – his third this season in all cricket – feels importantly timed.

We have an Australia top three clearly missing form and structure, shown up by the South African team in the Test championship decider, exposed again in the following Caribbean tour. Labuschagne was left out during that tour, but on some level you felt Australia were keen to restore him at the earliest chance. Now he looks to have given them the ideal reason.

This represents a plan that Australia need to work. Khawaja has a single hundred in his recent 44 batting efforts. The young batsman looks not quite a Test match opener and more like the good-looking star who might act as a batsman in a Bollywood epic. No other options has shown convincing form. McSweeney looks cooked. Harris is still oddly present, like moths or damp. Meanwhile their leader, Cummins, is hurt and suddenly this seems like a unusually thin squad, lacking strength or equilibrium, the kind of built-in belief that has often given Australia a lead before a game starts.

Labuschagne’s Return

Enter Marnus: a top-ranked Test batsman as in the recent past, just left out from the one-day team, the ideal candidate to bring stability to a shaky team. And we are advised this is a composed and reflective Labuschagne currently: a simplified, no-frills Labuschagne, no longer as 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.”

Of course, nobody truly believes this. Most likely this is a rebrand that exists just in Labuschagne’s personal view: still furiously stripping down that technique from dawn to dusk, going more back to basics than any player has attempted. Prefer simplicity? Marnus will devote weeks in the practice sessions with advisors and replays, completely transforming into the least technical batter that has ever existed. That’s the trait of the obsessed, and the characteristic that has always made Labuschagne one of the most wildly absorbing sportsmen in the sport.

The Broader Picture

It could be before this very open England-Australia contest, there is even a type of pleasing dissonance to Labuschagne’s constant dedication. In England we have a team for whom any kind of analysis, let alone self-analysis, is a forbidden topic. Trust your gut. Be where the ball is. Smell the now.

On the opposite side you have a player such as Labuschagne, a player completely dedicated with the sport and totally indifferent by who knows about it, who sees cricket even in the moments outside play, who handles this unusual pursuit with exactly the level of quirky respect it deserves.

This approach succeeded. During his shamanic phase – from the instant he appeared to substitute for an injured the senior batsman at the famous ground in 2019 to through 2022 – Labuschagne was able to see the game on another level. To tap into it – through pure determination – on a elevated, strange, passionate tier. During his time with club cricket, teammates would find him on the day of a match resting on a bench in a focused mindset, actually imagining every single ball of his time at the crease. According to cricket statisticians, during the initial period of his career a statistically unfathomable proportion of catches were dropped off his bat. Remarkably Labuschagne had intuited what would happen before others could react to change it.

Recent Challenges

Perhaps this was why his form started to decline the point he became number one. There were no new heights to imagine, just a boundless, uncharted void before his eyes. Additionally – he began doubting his cover drive, got stuck in his crease and seemed to lose awareness of his stumps. But it’s all the same thing. Meanwhile his coach, Neil D’Costa, believes a focus on white-ball cricket started to erode confidence in his alignment. Positive development: he’s recently omitted from the ODI side.

Surely it matters, too, that Labuschagne is a devoutly religious individual, an religious believer who believes that this is all preordained, who thus sees his role as one of accessing this state of flow, despite being puzzling it may look to the mortal of us.

This, to my mind, has always been the main point of difference between him and Smith, a more naturally gifted player