Labuschagne Reflects on Thrilling County Championship Match 2024
Marnus Labuschagne of Australia recently talked about a memorable County Championship game in which Glamorgan came dangerously close to setting a world record in the run chase.
This thrilling game against Gloucestershire was greatly influenced by Labuschagne’s outstanding century.
Reflecting on his involvement in the incredible tied County Championship match earlier this week, Marnus Labuschagne acknowledged Glamorgan believed their attempt to seek a world record for runs was over.
Gloucestershire had set a 593 score, and they needed two runs to win in the last over of the game following centuries from Labuschagne and Sam Northeast. Jamie McIlroy, who is ranked eleventh, was left on strike after Mason Crane completed four dot balls and then took a single to tie the score. He gave Ajeet Dale a powerful swing before cutting through to James Bracey, who had taken off his right glove to allow the hitters to try a bye. Bracey made an amazing one-handed grab.
“It’s always about taking one step at a time when you’re chasing a big score like that,” Labuschagne said on SEN Radio. However, the field where we played had a really speedy outfield, so you always had the feeling that things could quickly spiral out of control if you took advantage of the opponent and scored points while batting effectively.
“You simply take things one step at a time, but that’s something you think about all the time. Then, as the score approaches100, you begin to become a little more involved and enthusiastic. When the score approaches50, we lose a few more wickets and decide whether to bat for a draw or go all in to win.
“There were many highs and lows throughout the match, and we believed we were home when we hit a boundary off the final ball of the second-to-last over of the day. We put Mason Crane, the batter, in on strike when we needed two runs off the final over. It’s up to the No. 11 to finish the job since he faced four dots and only received a single. “Amazing game…We were able to obtain their score, but not a single extra.”
This stint with Glamorgan comes to an end with a series of T20 Blast matches before Labuschagne heads back to Australia, and this match was his final County Championship appearance. After that, he will take part in Queensland’s pre-season as their new captain before possibly making a mid-September return to England for the ODI series.
In four first-class matches, Labuschagne amassed 2 centuries and 468 runs at 58.50. This came after a rather inactive stretch in his Test career, during which he had only struck one century in his last 20 Tests despite hitting 90 in the preceding encounter against New Zealand in March.
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“The ups and downs of the game is part of the challenge,” he stated. “It was a good chance for me to review my past performances and how I’ve been successful when I’ve been batting well before coming here. I’ve worked on a few technical aspects and things are coming together really nicely, which is preparing me for some one-day and Test cricket later this summer.
“I always look at my game from a technical lens, finding out ways to improve and get better, and especially with my technique making sure my alignment is good, moving into the ball well, all those sorts of things [are] really important for me.”
Labuschagne’s Glamorgan season has been filled with remarkable moments beyond just being a part of a 592-run four-day tie. He also lit up social media with his incredible catch in the T20 Blast.
“It’s definitely the best catch I’ve taken that’s been caught on camera, that’s for sure,” he stated. “I took a catch in club cricket when I was 18 or 19, the boys that I play with at Queensland always say it was another very good catch, but unfortunately we don’t have that on camera, so as good as it never happened.”
Depending on how multi-format players are handled in relation to the white-ball series against Pakistan in November, Labuschagne may be available for Queensland for at least the first month of the Sheffield Shield season, and maybe even longer. On November 22, the first Test against India will begin in Perth.
Regarding the possibility of playing India, he remarked, “It’s there in the back of my mind stewing along, but when you are playing you are always trying to focus on the here and now.”
