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Marnus Labuschagne has joined a special club by becoming the fifth-fastest player to surpass 2000 runs in Test cricket and the man with the most centuries in a Day-night Test match. The Australian playing in his 20th Test match took full advantage of when he was dropped by Jos Butler on 95 at the end of Day 1 to complete his sixth hundred in Tests.
In the first session of Day 2 of the second Ashes Test, Labuschagne scored his third hundred in the day-night Test that saw him surpass Ashad Shafiq’s record of two hundreds under the lights. Previously he had two tons level with Shafiq and was buying for the record before the match. His previous day-night hundred came in December 2019 against New Zealand when he ended with 143 to guide Australia home in Perth.
The prolific batter now has more than 2000 runs in in the longest format and only has Sir Don Bradman (22), George Headley (32), Herbert Sutcliffe (33), and Michael Hussey (33) ahead of him in terms of innings. His 34 innings have set him in great company for the time being. Had he surpassed the total in the previous match he would have been level with Mr. Cricket (Mike Hussey).
Interestingly, all of Labuschagne’s hundreds have come in the World Test Championship (WTC) era which sees him go level with England captain Joe Root for the most hundreds. The WTC era has brought the best out of the two players as they will now go head-to-head as Root’s England are poised to bat in the challenging conditions of Adelaide.
There could have been multiple records on offer for Labuschagne’s partner in crime Steve Smith as he could have become Australia’s second most successful captain in terms of hundreds. It would have been his 16th hundred as he got out for 93. Only Ricky Ponting with 19 has more hundreds as a Test captain of the Australian side.
