Marnus Labuschagne, Glamorgan's current overseas star, was named today as one of Wisen's Five Cricketers of the Year, with the Australian becoming the first player from the Welsh county to win this accolade since 2006 when Simon Jones was honoured after his part in the Ashes-winning series the previous summer.
From a personal and collective point of view, 2019 was a phenomenal year for Marnus Labuschagne, the gifted Australian strokeplayer enjoying a run-laden summer with the Welsh county, becoming the first batsman in the country to reach 1,000 runs in Championship cricket, before being a member of the Australian squad who drew 2-2 with England in the Test series to retain the Ashes.
Labuschagne notched five centuries for Glamorgan in the 2019 season, alongside five half-centuries. He scored a century on debut against Northamptonshire, in his first official appearance at Sophia Gardens, quickly following it with a century at Newport against Gloucestershire. He recorded a then-career best of 182 against Sussex in Hove, during a club-record partnership of 291 with Nick Selman.
He recorded twin hundreds against Worcestershire, becoming the first Glamorgan player since Jonathan Hughes in 2005 to do so, as he finished his county season on 1,114 runs at an average of above 65.
During the Ashes, Marnus also became in addition to becoming the first concussion substitute in the history of Test cricket following the head injury sustained by Steve Smith during the Lord’s Test. He also played a couple of decisive innings in the Ashes series before in the opening Test of Australia’s series against Pakistan in late November 2019, Marnus posted his maiden Test hundred.
His career-best 185 came fittingly on his home turf in Brisbane, before in the next Test, he made 162 at Adelaide and shared in a second-wicket stand of 361 with David Warner.
A third successive hundred came in the next Test, against New Zealand at Perth, emulating the feats of Don Bradman in 1937/38 with three successive centuries in international cricket before ending the calendar year as the leading run-scorer in Test cricket, and a tally of 2,703 first-class runs – the most since David Hussey made 2,722 in 2007.
He then began 2020 with a career-best double-hundred in the Test Match in early January against New Zealand.
Back in January 2019 only the diehard of Glamorgan supporters had heard of the 25 year-old right-hander and, even when terms were agreed with him in late March, many were browsing the Internet to check up on his playing record for Queensland and Australia.
By mid-summer’s day 2019, none were left in any doubt as to his playing credentials as he closed in on becoming the first batsman to score over a thousand runs in Championship cricket, and helped Glamorgan secure a series of victories which lifted them to the top of Division Two table.
GLAMORGAN PLAYERS NOMINATED AS WISDEN'S FIVE CRICKETERS OF THE YEAR
1927 Jack Mercer
1931 Maurice Turnbull
1969 Ossie Wheatley
1970 Majid Khan, Don Shepherd
1974 Roy Fredericks
1978 Alan Jones
1982 Javed Miandad
1991 Alan Butcher
1994 Steve Watkin
1998 Matthew Maynard
2006 Simon Jones
2020 Marnus Labuschagne