Well, this can be a bit awkward.
Not the primary time, Marnus Labuschagne has entered a match as a concussion sub, performed a defining innings, and given selectors some severe meals for thought.
Australia’s 15-man World Cup squad unveiled earlier the week was stuffed with bashers, and fairly moderately so.
Long gone are the times when 250 is routinely a profitable ODI rating, and on flat Indian tracks brawn will probably be required.
But the Aussies play so little one-day cricket lately that it’s simple to neglect the volatility of the format. And likewise it’s a lure to conflate Twenty20 performances with these within the one-day enviornment. White-ball cricket is a helpful umbrella time period, however they’re markedly completely different entities.
Labuschagne got here to the crease at 6-93 within the 14th over, together with his facet chasing 222. In T20 cricket that may be a totally hopeless scenario. In one-dayers it’s merely a really troublesome one.
And exceptionally supported at No.9 by Ashton Agar – whose unbeaten 48 off 69 must also assist his push for a spot in Australia’s World Cup XI – Labuschagne nurdled his strategy to 80 not out off 93 balls to steer the Aussies dwelling at Bloemfontein with virtually 10 overs to spare.
Notably Labuschagne didn’t ship any of the South African bowlers over the rope, and struck simply eight boundaries. But he nonetheless struck at 86, expertly milking the Proteas for ones and twos.
Labuschagne’s omission from Australia’s World Cup squad was justifiable. When the occasion was picked he was averaging 31.37 from 30 matches at a strike charge within the low 80s.
The rationale was that with so many all-round and attacking choices, there was actually solely room for one in every of he and Steve Smith within the XI, and that Smith was clearly the superior possibility.
Labuschagne is within the squad for these matches solely due to Smith’s wrist damage, and he’s not resulting from head to India for the following batch of video games forward of the match correct subsequent month.
However there are nonetheless ODIs the place innings like Labuschagne’s are required. 400 is the brand new 300, but the epic 2019 World Cup ultimate was tied at 241 apiece, and it wasn’t a dramatic outlier for a match the place scores didn’t fairly explode like some had tipped earlier than the occasion.
It is just one innings, nevertheless Labuschagne’s knock brings into sharper focus the type of the highest seven, not least David Warner who was bowled by Marco Jansen for a second-ball duck.
For what it’s value, the actual fact Labuschagne was allowed to exchange Cameron Green in any respect was questionable. Not {that a} concussed participant needs to be taken out of the sport – after all they need to – however that it was Labuschagne moderately than Aaron Hardie, one other seam-bowling all-rounder, who took Green’s place after he was hit within the head by Kagiso Rabada.
ICC guidelines stipulate that groups can change concussed gamers with a “like for like” however match officers finally have discretion. Green entered the match with a greater ODI batting common and strike charge (from a smaller pattern dimension) than Labuschagne, nevertheless the uncapped Hardie was additionally sitting on the bench and on face worth is the extra related participant.
Green was batting at No.4 although, so plugging Labuschagne in to exchange him at that spot just isn’t far-fetched. However Green had additionally already bowled 5 overs. Labuschagne hadn’t bowled in any respect in any of his earlier 9 ODIs.
In the grand scheme of issues it issues little, this match will probably be rapidly forgotten as one in every of myriad World Cup lead-up video games, nevertheless it units an attention-grabbing and maybe harmful precedent {that a} specialist batter can fill in for an all-rounder.
Originally revealed as Analysis: Marnus Labuschagne exhibits why Australia can’t have Twenty20 mindset at ODI World Cup
Source: www.news.com.au
