Labuschagne played for Sandwich Town.
There is a bench in Kent that has helped Australian Marnus Labuschagne rise to the number one Test batter in the world.
The bench was where Labuschagne sat on a Saturday morning in order to see how much he would play for Sandwich Town.
He was so focused on his mental preparation that he didn't notice his house-mate walking past on his way to the ground.
"I would walk for an hour, sit on a bench and visualize my hundred until I got it," Labuschagne says. I got 127 in the first game for Sandwich. We played a lot of games. I got out when there was still more than half the game left.
If I want to get a double hundred, I need to see it. I looked at the hundred and then the 200 the next week. I got 203 not out.
Labuschagne spent a summer with the club that produced England batter Tammy Beaumont, and he played alongside Geraint Jones, who was an England international.
His 1,049 runs set a new Kent Premier League record for a batter in a single season, going past the previous best of 1,012 set by the man who is now his coach for Australia. Labuschagne's mark is still there.
It taught Labuschagne a skill that would take him to world number one and gave him a chance to avenge his coach's treachery.
He learned how strong the mind can be. I would imagine the batting, the bowlers and different plans. I will subconsciously do it now.
I can talk to you now. I'm thinking about batting, how I want to play, and other things.
I'm on the rare side when it comes to my cricket thinking. I'm used to being different.
Labuschagne's "rarer side" now includes congratulating himself when he successfully ducks under a bouncer and leaves the ball with a style so flamboyant it could enter a Drag Race.
The quirks that he had yet to fully form when he played forPlymouth in 2013).
After persuading his father to allow him to study cricket in England, he went to the south-west of the country to find a club.
Labuschagne and Geraint Jones played on the same team.
Labuschagne says he phrased it to his dad as being like study. I went to England as my university. I wanted to play a sport. You don't see a doctor kicking around a ball to get his degree.
He got around on a bike. He was required to work behind the bar and help maintain the ground. Labuschagne made hundreds in his first two runs in England, but did not reach three figures again that summer.
He says it was cold. I'd never done a long jumper before, but I did it in my first few games.
I learned a lot from that trip. I wanted to get two hundreds for the year and be consistent. I got 126 not out and 130 not out, but I didn't get another hundred.
I learned how to set goals. I don't like to limit myself or anything like that because I realized on the trip that I had achieved my goal and I subconsciously took my foot off the pedal.
After moving to Kent, Labuschagne was going to improve his batting and lifestyle.
Labuschagne knew he needed to change his diet. He cut out sugar and bread and only ate sweet potato for most of his meals.
Labuschagne says that they always blow that up. I'm not sure if they think I left the kitchen messy.
Labuschagne was shadow batting when he wasn't cooking. He became friends with another player,Rory Smith, as well as Van Poppel and Evans.
Smith, Van Poppel, Evans, and Labuschagne all went to the same place to live after Smith made his Test debut against Pakistan. He was presented with his baggy green cap while in the Australia team huddle.
Labuschagne scored more than 2,000 runs for Sandwich Town.
Labuschagne's education in the UK was not over despite him becoming a Test cricketer.
He had played county cricket for Sandwich and Kent, but abandoned it when it became clear that he wouldn't be able to make it as a local player.
After scoring more than 1,100 runs in 10 Championship matches, Labuschagne was called into Australia's Test squad, where he became the first concussion substitute in Test cricket after Steve Smith was struck by a Jofra Archer bouncer at Lord's.
From the first ball he faced, Labuschagne was floored by a horrible blow to the grille from Archer, only to pick himself up with a smile and a thumbs up. No one with more than 1,000 runs can beat Labuschagne's average. His career average of 58.67 is eighth on the all-time list.
He says thatGlamorgan took a punt on him. My statistics were not something to be proud of. They were looking for something in my character and work ethic.
Labuschagne doesn't pay much attention to his responsibility with Glamorgan, even though he spent more time there than he did at Sandwich Town.
He says it was harder when he was playing for Sandwich andPlymouth.
It's your job to win games. They give you the ball when they need a break, and you need to score a lot of points. It's your job. It's a different level now.
If it is England that helped put Labuschagne on the way to becoming the best batter in the world, it is England that he has helped destroy.
His scores of 74, 103 and 51 not out set up victories in the vital opening two Tests, with Australia now on course for another thumping win in a home Ashes series.
Labuschagne says the UK has helped him. The sheer amount of games. I played cricket three times a week. The craft is being learned.
I've got a lot to be thankful for.
English cricket might not be so thankful.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
