"It needed to happen": Labuschagne on getting axed from Australian squad

Nov 04, 2025

New Delhi [India], November 4 : Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne, following his brilliant run in the ongoing One Day Cup for Queensland, believes it's something that needed to happen for him to get where he is and felt axing from the Aussies squad helped him rediscover his form.
Labuschagne continued to unleash a torrent of runs in the domestic circuit, slamming his third ton of the ongoing One Day Cup for Queensland against New South Wales at Sydney on Monday.
Following two years of indifferent form in international cricket, especially in Tests, Australia's second-most premier batter after Steve Smith continues to be hell-bent on proving that his class is permanent and runs will soon flow, as he smashed 101 in 111 balls, with six fours and a six, striking at 90.99.
With his outstanding run in the One Day Cup, Labuschagne has once again boosted his chances of upcoming Ashes selection.
"Firstly, I think it's something that needed to happen for me to get where I am today. Because I think once you're still playing and you're in, you're getting scrutinised, and it's hard to get clarity on where you want your game to be and how you want to do that," Labuschagne said as quoted from Fox Sports News.
Labuschagne felt that simply working hard wasn't enough; he needed a change in approach to find his best form. He believes that when he's playing well, everything else falls into place.
"As a player, and the way I always play is 'okay, I'll just keep training. I'll keep training, but it just wasn't the right plan or the right play. For me, it was something that really needed to happen for me to, as I said, find my best, and I mentioned it from the start before the first game. I said 'if I'm playing at my best, I don't need to worry about anything else'," Labuschagne added.
Marnus is the top run-getter in the tournament, with 338 runs in four innings at an average of 84.50, with three centuries and a strike rate of over 99, with the best score being 130.
This is his fifth century in the past eight innings in domestic cricket across formats, having already slammed two Sheffield Shield centuries as well.
He rules the batting charts of the Aussies' most premier red-ball tournament as well, with 341 runs in four innings at an average of 85.25, a healthy strike rate of 77.67 and two centuries, with a best score of 160.
With Ashes set to start on November 21 in Perth, Labuschagne would aim to continue his domestic grind, scoring a truckload of runs to earn back his place in the team.