Marnus Labuschagne eyes One-Day Cup opener as Test spot scrutiny grows

Marnus Labuschagne will play in Queensland's One-Day Cup opener against Victoria at Allan Border Field on Saturday, September 19, as he looks to rebuild form ahead of Australia's Test series in South Africa next month. The 32-year-old was dropped from Australia's ODI squad last week for the series in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and has faced sustained scrutiny over his place in the Test side.

Labuschagne has gone more than three years without a Test century, yet he scored five hundreds in eight innings for Queensland at the start of last summer to regain his Ashes spot. Three of those centuries came at Allan Border Field across three weeks last September-October, making the venue a significant marker in his recent domestic record. He also joined Fire captain Georgia Redmayne at the ground on Friday to launch Queensland Cricket's 150-year anniversary celebrations.

"Criticism is part of the job. No-one's criticising my character. they're criticising my performance, and I'm the one that's allowed that, right? Because of the lack of performance, I've opened myself up to criticism. Now, there's clearly a reason that I'm still there, and I think the people that are in charge know that, and know the reason. How I've performed in the last few years is clearly not my standard and where I want to be, and I'm doing everything possible to make sure that I'm going to get back there during this series in Africa," Labuschagne said, as quoted by cricket.com.au.

How has Labuschagne been preparing for the South Africa Tests?

Labuschagne is a 65-Test veteran who went through a high-volume preparation before the Bangladesh Tests but has since taken a more measured approach to his training. He has been working closely with new Queensland head coach James Hopes, who played out the final two summers of his career alongside a young Labuschagne and later served as Bulls assistant coach during Labuschagne's rise at domestic and international level.

"We've had a lot of great discussions, spent a lot of time in his office looking at (batting) footage and talking cricket. And we've come up with some things, and some thoughts that we've got. I think that's what's great, that discussion, personally around my game and what he thinks, what he's seeing, and about our team and winning games for Queensland. Since we've been back from Bangladesh, it's just the balancing part of focus on technique and then intensity you want to simulate for the match, and separating sessions out like that. I always feel good batting in the nets – I feel like my game's in good order – but what's important is that phase where you're switching onto the game and investing in what you think is best way to score runs out there," Labuschagne said.

What does the One-Day Cup mean for Labuschagne's ODI future?

Labuschagne was left out of Australia's ODI squads for the upcoming series in Zimbabwe and South Africa, but he has framed the omission as an opportunity to sharpen his preparation for the Test leg of the tour. He indicated he expects to travel to South Africa in roughly a week and a half, placing the Test series firmly in focus.

"I think not (being part of the ODI squad) has also given me a bit of time to prepare and get my game where I really want it to be for when I go there in a week-and-a-half's time. Last year I think I showed that I'm playing very good domestic one-day cricket, so I'm not coming out here needing to prove to anyone that I'm a good enough player. I think they know that. And if I get another opportunity my job is to take that," Labuschagne said.