Marnus Labuschagne: The 'concussion substitute' who stayed put

"It's a bit surreal at the moment”, was how Australia's Marnus Labuschagne described his second Test century, and his unbroken 294-run stand on day one of the second Test against Pakistan, in Melbourne.

Yes, surreal is the word. Not just for the innings, but for the man himself. Labuschagne is in the form of his life. He scored a career-best 185 in the first Test against Pakistan, which Australia eventually won by an innings and five runs. In the ongoing Test, opener David Warner is batting on 166 while Labuschagne is on 126, and looks set for more against a hapless Pakistani attack.

In the 11 Tests the South Africa-born Australian batting all-rounder has played so far (including the ongoing Test), he has scored 874 runs at an average of 54.62, with five fifties and two hundreds. He has also taken 10 wickets with his leg-breaks.

The 25-year-old made his Test debut against Pakistan at Dubai in October 2018. In the first five Tests, he made just one half-century—81 against Sri Lanka at Brisbane in January this year—and took nine wickets.

The turning point came in the second Test of the Ashes series in August this year, at Lord's. He became the first concussion substitute in Test cricket history, coming on for Steve Smith who suffered concussion after being hit by a Jofra Archer bouncer. Labuschagne was already in the cross-hairs of the selectors, amassing 1,057 runs at 70.46 for Glamorgan in county cricket.

Coming on in place of Smith in the second innings, he was hit on his helmet grille off the first legal delivery he faced, from Archer. But Labuschagne hung on to score a gritty 59, making most of the fortuitous entry into the playing XI, and helping Australia draw the Test. He made 294 runs in the next three Tests against England, including three fifties. He finished behind Smith as Australia's second-highest run-getter in the series, with 353 runs from seven innings at an average of 50.42.

The right-hander has now cemented his place in the team. In fact, he is already being compared to Australian batting heavyweight Smith, whom he replaced at Lord's. Both are leg-break bowlers, with a knack of scoring big and playing fighting knocks. The ongoing Test saw another similarity between the two—the “light saber leave”! Here's the video tweeted by Cricket Australia, and that of Steve Smith: