In an interview with the Giving the Game Away podcast, Queensland assistant coach Adam Hollioake shared an interesting anecdote about Marnus Labuschagne, one that was was a sign of things to come.

20 Tests into his Australia career, Labuschagne has already become a pillar of Australia’s Test batting line-up. He has over 2,000 runs in the format, and averages 62.14. He has been prolific at No. 3 where he averages about 73. His rich run of form has seen him reach top spot in ICC Test batting rankings, getting the better of England’s Joe Root, who was pushed down to No. 2.

During the podcast, Hollioake discussed what makes Labuschagne standout from the rest. There was conversation around Labuschagne putting in the extra yards even when he’s a world-class player. He said: “I feel like with him training isn’t a chore. He just genuinely loves the game so much, he gets so much excitement out of training. The reason is because his knowledge of batting is so high…his thinking on it is so high and it is so complex that it draws him back to the game. I’ve learned things off him.”

The former England skipper further discussed how one positive aspect of Marnus’s game was that he was open to conversation with other players about his game, “He talks to a lot of people,” Hollioake continued. “He’s taken a lot of information from Steve Smith, he’s taken a lot of information from Matthew Maynard at Glamorgan and taken information from me, albeit only a little bit. Information from the other players at Queensland. He’s constantly speaking to people. I don’t think he gets bored of talking about it. His quest for knowledge is insatiable.”

Hollioake discussed the work ethic of both Labuschagne and his Australia teammate Steve Smith, and what makes them stand apart from the rest. He added: “I don’t think there’s any coincidence, that the two best players in Australia are the guys who hit the most balls…ultimately, people’s love for the game just drives them to hit more balls, and if you do that with a good technique, it’s gonna make you a better player.”

Hollioake then went on to narrate an interesting training session at Queensland, which involved him throwing balls at Labuschagne in the nets and an interesting bet that the Australia batter put up before him.

He said: “After the [2019] Ashes we had a really, really long off-season because they cut short the Shield season, I remember I was throwing to him. We had a very sporty net. I had a ball that was swinging, and I had a dog picker that I had just been throwing to Joe Burns and other players in the Shield side with and I had been getting them out pretty easily.

“And he came in to bat and he said, ‘Okay, I’ll bet you can’t get me out… you won’t nick me off in this session, if you do I’ll give you my car’. I said, ‘I hope you’ve got two because you’ll be walking home unless someone gives you a lift.’ I’m going to get this guy out easy. So I start throwing and he’s leaving the ball well, he’s getting across the stumps.

And after about 15 minutes and I was swinging them out, he said, ‘ Just to give you a bit of clue, I haven’t nicked one since November 13th, Jackson Bird versus Tasmania at the Gabba.’ He hadn’t nicked a ball in five months. That doesn’t sound like sledging, but all of a sudden now I’m holding the ball to go in. I’m trying to bowl in-swingers rather than trying to go out to make him nick off. So, he’s completely changed my tactic to try and get him out and then I’ve gone away from what I was doing well. And all of a sudden he was batting well, and I didn’t get him out…”

Laabuschagne has been the leading run-scorer in this winter’s Ashes so far having scored 228 runs at an average of 76 across the first Two Tests.

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