'Pretty big statement': Smith backing Marnus to thrive

Steve Smith is ‘proud’ of the way Marnus Labuschagne has rebounded from his Test axing and says a transition to opening will be no problem

Steve Smith has detailed how “proud” he is of Marnus Labuschagne’s return to form and backed him to make the transition to Test opener in this summer’s Ashes.

Smith, having returned from New York ahead of his first Sheffield Shield match of the summer for NSW in Brisbane next week, had some simple advice for Labuschagne after he was dropped ahead of the winter’s Caribbean tour.

“He said to me at the start of the summer, ‘I’ll be in that Test team, come the first Test’,” Smith said of his conversation with Labuschagne.

“He’s backed up his words.

“I sent him a message a couple of days ago, saying, how proud I was of him. He’s obviously got dropped from the team and he’s just gone back and he’s got four hundreds in (six) hits.

“That’s a pretty big statement.

“He’s obviously not selected yet, but he’s done a lot of things right.”

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Australia is expected to name their Ashes squad after the next round of Shield cricket, which begins October 28. Labuschagne’s form, which has seen him hit 160 and 159 in two Shield rounds, as well as 130 and 105 in the One-Day Cup, have him primed for a recall.

The main question remains where the right-hander will bat, and if selectors will opt to bring him back at No.3 or use him to partner Usman Khawaja at the top.

“He can open, as we saw in the Test Championship final, he can bat three, he’s versatile and we’ll see where it all stands when the team gets picked,” Smith said of the Queenslander.

“(Opening is) not too different to batting No.3 to be honest.

“You could be in the (second) ball. It’s essentially the same thing, I don’t think he needs to change anything if that’s the case.

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“Just play the game, play how he has been. See the ball, hit it and trust his instincts.”

Smith revealed his simple advice to Labuschagne after he was dropped following scores of 17 and 22 as opener in the World Test Championship final in June.

“My advice to him was stop thinking so technically. Just go and play the game. Watch the ball and react,” Smith said.

“He knew he probably wasn’t batting as well as he had been probably four years ago when he was scoring a mountain of runs.

“The way he’s come back now …. I think he’s been doing that really beautifully and he’s played so nicely.

“I’m so proud of him.”

Australia coach Andrew McDonald gave Labuschagne a “big tick” earlier this month fo having adjusted his batting approach this summer.

“We definitely see Marnus as an opening option,” McDonald told reporters on October 10. “He’s had an outstanding record at three for Australia. He is doing all the right things at the moment with three domestic hundreds in four hits.

“More impressive was the method that he applied, in the front half of that innings in particular against Tassie at AB Field,” McDonald said, speaking before Labuschagne scored a second Shield ton at Adelaide Oval.

“It’s the way he’s going about it, subtle changes that he has made to his game. To see those implemented first up in Shield round one, big tick for Marnus for all the work he’s done and on the back of a little layoff as well.

“He’s nice and fresh at the moment, he’s making some good decisions around his game.”

The 31-year-old Queenslander had developed a reputation as a tireless trainer but now admits a change in approach was necessary, in line with Smith’s advice.

“I took a step back mentally and had a look at what I wanted to achieve before I then started attacking it,” he told cricket.com.au earlier this month. “I didn’t want to just attack it blindly and go, ‘Okay, I’m just going to train, train, train.

“There’s an analogy – you can try and bash yourself through the wall, or you can just open the door and walk in.

“(That means) train smarter. I’ve always trained hard. So if I can combine the clarity of mind, working with my coaches, working with the people around me to go, ‘Okay, how do we get myself back here?’

“You just want to score consistent runs, spend time in the middle, get that feel of playing, and then the rest just starts creeping back. It comes back pretty quickly from there.”