Marnus Labuschagne’s dreadful form with the bat in the red-ball format continues as he managed only three runs in two innings in the first Test versus New Zealand at Wellington. Despite making a debut in 2018, he made headlines in 2019 during the Ashes in England. Lord’s Test, Labuschagne came in as a concussion substitute for Steve Smith and the rest is history.
The way he played England’s pace attack was commendable and, in that series, he notched up four consecutive fifties. After that, he did not look back and scored runs for fun, especially at home. By the end of 2022, the stylish right-handed batter also became the world’s No.1 ranked batter in Tests. But, since the beginning of 2023, he has lost the path of scoring runs.
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Before this ongoing series versus the Kiwis, he was averaging 91.5 in six innings, including two centuries and three fifties, although all those runs came in Australia. So, fans were hoping for him to put an end to his drought of runs but again, he failed to do so. Here is how Marnus Labuschagne’s numbers have changed over the last few years:
Runs by years
Numbers show why he was at the top of the rankings by the end of 2022. In 55 innings, Labuschagne was averaging 59.06, including 10 hundreds and 13 fifties. At No. 3 position, every batter needs to be consistent and the 29-year-old was scoring runs at will against every opposition. But since 2023 till now, his average has dropped to 32.66 in 33 innings, including only one century and six fifties. Even, his strike rate has dropped from 55.83 to 43.99.
Home vs Away Conditions
Overall, Labuschagne has always enjoyed batting on home conditions while having a decent 37.78 average in away conditions so far. But these numbers have also drastically changed since 2023, especially in Australia.
Before 2023, Labuschagne had a staggering average of 70.24 in 21 home Tests, including nine tons and eight fifties. But since 2023, he has failed to notch up a single century in 11 innings. His average has dropped to 33.89 with a lesser strike rate.
For any batter in the world, scoring in away conditions always adds a special value. The Aussie batter had a good average of 44.8 in nine away Tests before 2023, including one century and five fifties. However, after 2023, he has managed to score one hundred and two fifties, with an average of 31.94.
Pace vs Spin
Labuschagne’s ability to play spin made him a player to watch out for. Still now, against spin, he has an average of 56.03 compared to 48.17 against pace. There must be very few non-Asian players who will average above 50 against spinners. But the numbers before and after 2023 speak a different story. However, he has been dismissed by pacers 52 times and 27 times by spinners so far.
Before 2023, Labuschagne was averaging nearly 60 against pacers in 49 innings but after that, he has now an average of less than 30. Pacers have found ways to trouble him more recently.
Even against spin, he had an average of 64.06 before 2023 in 43 innings but after that, his average has dropped to 40. His strike rate has also dropped to 48.58 compared to 70.56 before 2023.
Now, in the second game versus New Zealand in the ongoing series, if Labuschagne gets another chance, then it will be his 50th Test and he must be looking to score some big runs during that landmark Test match. Fans will hope for the same also, as a quality batter like him should get his touch back in the longest format of the game.
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