Former opener David Warner is ‘not convinced with Marnus Labuschagne batting form in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy despite the right-handed batter’s crucial knock (64 off 126) in Australia’s 10-wicket win over India in the Pink Ball Test in Adelaide.
Speaking to The Herald, Warner highlighted Labuschagne’s inconsistency and said he wasn’t anywhere near his best in the second Test.
Notably, Labuschagne scored just five runs in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Perth before he scored a crucial fifty during the Pink Ball Test in Adelaide.
“I’m still not convinced about Marnus…I don’t think that was anywhere near what we know he’s capable of…He might have got a couple out of the middle, got a couple of freebies, batted well that night to get through, but they bowled poorly. So from that perspective, he had the best conditions to come out and bat in. But he got out the same way he always does get out when he gets over 50, hits it straight to gully. Steve of late, I think a lot of teams have been bowling at his pads and down leg side. So I think from that perspective they’re trying to shut his scoring down quite a bit,” Warner said.
“You see he’s trying to tinker with fixing certain things with Bumrah. His feet weren’t moving across this time. We know what Steve’s like, one knock and then he’s there. But as we know, the best form of currency is runs so you’ve just got to try your best to churn them out. Uz, exactly the same. He’s had a great 12 months before. But then, of late, he hasn’t scored as many runs as he would have liked, but same thing, you’ve just got to go out there and still present the same attitude, the same at training, keep working hard,” he added.
Australia levelled the five match series 1-1 after a thumping 10-wicket win over India in the second Test in Adelaide. The two sides now head to Brisbane for the third match, starting December 14.
