2019 was a career-defining year for Marnus Labuschagne, and he’s not satisfied with what he’s achieved so far.
After ending the season county season as Glamorgan’s Player of the Year and finishing the 2019 Ashes series as his side’s 2nd top run scorer, Labuschagne went on a tear during the Australian summer and announced himself on the world stage.
He turned a maiden century for Australia into a mammoth 185, before following up with 162, 143, 50, 63 and 19, and in the final match of the series against New Zealand Labuschagne finally scored the elusive double-century he was after, hitting 215 to top off an incredible summer and earning himself Australia’s Test Player of the Year at the recent CA awards.
“To win that award was pretty amazing,” said Labuschagne. “We had a great summer at home, and a great winter in England as a team, so to finish the season as the Test player of the year was pretty special and I’m very honoured to have won that award.
“It’s always something I’ve aspired to – maybe not getting Test player of the year, but to be the best player I can be. If you’d have said 12 months ago this would happen, I’d have said it probably wouldn’t. It was unexpected, but I wasn’t surprised based on the year I’ve had.”
Labuschagne has received praise from many former players and pundits around the world, as well as fans and county faithful, but Sachin Tendulkar’s recent comments stand out amongst all the plaudits.
“It was amazing to hear someone of that calibre say something like that about me and now it’s about making sure you take that on board but stay nice and grounded.
“The game of cricket is a fickle game and although at the moment things are looking good for me it’s about staying grounded, but I’m very honoured to receive that praise from Sachin.”
Marnus’ ambitions don’t just stop at Test level, with a debut in the recently concluded ODI series against India taking him one step further to his goals.
“I 100% want to play all three formats of the game for Australia. For me, it’s about trying to become the best player I can and try to learn about the game as much as I can. I’m lucky enough to have so many good players around me in the Australian team to learn from.”
Labuschagne’s spell at Glamorgan was the start of his remarkable streak and the Australian is quick to praise the work of head coach Matt Maynard, as well as the environment around the club for the impact it had on his performances and admits he can’t wait to return to Cardiff this season.
“Glamorgan had a massive part to play in my success. I’ve said it plenty of times but the way Matt Maynard spoke about the game really resonated with me and I really loved talking about the game with him and I learnt so much in my time there and put things into practice.
“I really wanted to score loads of runs, put them on the board, and Glamorgan gave me the opportunity to do that. From there to get that opportunity in the Ashes, it sort of transferred over through the summer.
“Pending selection there’s a few Australia tours next year, but every time I’m around Glamorgan it’s about making sure I enjoy it. I really enjoyed the team, the coaching staff, the support staff and just the county. I love playing in Wales and the way everything was run there was really enjoyable, and I think that’s pretty obvious given I signed for another two years.
“It’s going to be nice to get back into Cardiff, it’s been really hot in Brisbane so I’m looking forward to getting back, rug up in some big jumpers and get my hand warmers in my pockets, and I am genuinely looking forward to the change in conditions."
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