'I am batting better than ever...': Marnus Labuschagne issues warning to England bowlers ahead of The Ashes

Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne has been on a roll in domestic cricket as of recent and is is extremely confident about performing well in The Ashes. The 31-year-old issued a warning to the England bowlers and to Jofra Archer in particular, recalling his on-field duel with the England pacer back in 2019.

Labuschagne looking forward to his Test return

Labuschagne feels that he is batting better than ever and expressed excitement over making his much-awaited return to Test cricket. Notably, he had been dropped from the Baggy Greens' Test set-up after the World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa and remained on the sidelines during their three-match series against West Indies.

“He’s a quality bowler, those were great battles in 2019 and we’ve had some good contests in one day cricket at certain times, but it’s going to be great to see their bowlers come out here and see how they go as well,” Labuschagne exclusively told The Age.

“It’s been 18 months since I’ve been near my best, so it’d be nice to return to international cricket and play my best cricket. I genuinely feel like I’m batting better than I ever have now. The one time I feel like I was batting to a similar stature as I am now was probably 2019 Ashes. With the freedom and the way I was playing and moving and able to apply pressure in numerous areas," he added.

Labuschagne's stunning domestic run

After being dropped, Labuschagne went on to impress for Queensland in both the Sheffield Shield and One-Day Cup. He scored a total of five centuries in eight innings for the side and helped them rack up multiple victories in both tournaments. His blistering performance left the Australian selectors impressed and they decided to call him back for the crucial Ashes series. It remains to be seen if the batter will be able to maintain his red-hot form when he comes up against the English bowling attack.

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Australia's squad for The Ashes: Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster.

England's squad for The Ashes: Ben Stokes (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Mark Wood.