Watch: Marnus Labuschagne loves chewing gum while batting, so much so that he’s willing to excuse conventional hygiene for it. Who are we to judge?

During the Lord’s Ashes Test, a timely piece of camerawork caught Labuschagne dropping a piece of gum from his mouth between overs and – this would make some of you cringe – putting it back into his mouth after it had fallen on the pitch.

Preparing to face Stuart Broad for the 43rd over of Australia’s innings, Labuschagne was adjusting his gear when the accident occurred. Labuschagne bent down, and pop, out it came. He seemed to care little, picking the gum from the Lord’s surface as if plucking flowers from his garden. Before it re-entered his mouth, the Australia No.3 gave it a quick look to see if it was all fine, and then popped it in. Gumball over Bazball. Nonchalant, as always.

As for most Labuschagne quirks, this clip too, made its way to social media. While some couldn’t digest Labuschagne’s filthy schoolkid act, others excused him by applying the ubiquitous five-second rule. For the uninitiated, it’s an unwritten rule that has saved several bits of food from getting wasted around the world, based on the simple assumption that it’s too short a time for it to be spoiled by dirt, bacteria, or anything else for that matter. Please don’t question the logic.

Ask us, and we’ll give Labuschagne the green signal this time: the orange powder had been cleared, the Lord’s surface had been rolled over multiple times, and it was just too short a window of exposure really. We’ve all seen nastier stuff on a cricket pitch. Don’t forget that, not too long ago, saliva was allowed on a cricket ball!

Marnus dropping his gum on the pitch and then putting it back in his mouth????pic.twitter.com/tGdYqM3w72

— 🌈Stu 🇦🇺 (@stuwhy) June 29, 2023

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