Darwin [Australia], August 7 : Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne finds himself extremely optimistic and well-prepared ahead of the two-match home Test series against Bangladesh and feels that runs will flow if he keeps trusting his game.
The two-match series against Bangladesh will start from August 13 onwards, with Tests scheduled at Darwin and Mackay. The tour will witness Labuschagne continue his hunt for a Test century, having not reached the triple figures in the last 20 Tests since his tonne against England in July 2023 at The Oval. Since then, he has made 905 runs in 38 innings at a sub-par average of 26.61, with nine half-centuries and a best score of 90.
The former world number one Test batter is looking to lock down on the number three spot again and believes he is not far away from regaining his touch and is targeting a strong showing during the upcoming home series with Bangladesh.
Speaking as quoted by ICC, Marnus admitted to having been on the "longest break he has had" and that while he has tried to get things in order, he has found himself running out of time to commit to those changes.
"It is certainly very important to start these two Tests well," Labuschagne said.
"When you are on the road playing for probably the last seven or eight years straight, this is the longest break I have had. There have been times where I've tried to get things in order, but I just run out of time to fully commit to those small changes."
"It has been really nice to go back and find my best form and what it looks like for me to play at my best. The preparation over the last few weeks here with Australia has been great for that. Hopefully we can see the results off the back of all the hard work," he continued.
While Labuschagne could not find runs in Test cricket, he was more free-flowing in the Sheffield Shield for Queensland, scoring 525 runs in 14 innings at an average of 37.50, with two centuries and a fifty.
He is heading into the series after a below-average ODI run against Pakistan and Bangladesh, managing just one fifty in six innings and overall just 109 runs.
Labuschagne admitted that in recent times, he worried about the volume of runs he would score, but now is more open minded about his game and believes the big scores will come if he trusts his preparation and feels that if he keeps trusting his game, runs will come.
"When you have missed out a few times, you get a little greedy and start searching for runs, and you are not letting the game come to you," Labuschagne added.
"It is really important for me to not get too invested in the runs. We want the runs, but we want the process and that is what I am looking for."
"The runs will come as the journey goes on if I keep trusting my game. I think that is what I did really well through that period that I went really well. I trusted my game, trusted how I went about batting, reading the game and understanding what the team needed from me in that moment. That's what I'm looking forward to," he continued.
Australia currently sits on top of the World Test Championship standings, while Bangladesh is fourth.
Australia Test squad for Bangladesh: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
Series schedule:
First Test: August 13-17, Darwin
Second Test: August 22-26, Mackay.