Australia's star batter Marnus Labuschagne has asked David Warner to find out how many times he has been caught at gully in response to the former opener's remarks on his form. In Australia's ten-wicket victory at the Adelaide Oval, Labuschagne put an end to his recent slump with a commanding 64. Warner, however, expressed his scepticism on Labuschagne's comeback to form and drew attention to his carelessness in getting caught at gully off Nitish Kumar Reddy's bowling.
Warner on Labuschagne
"I'm still not convinced with Marnus. I don’t think that was anywhere near what we know he’s capable of. He might have got a couple out of the middle, got a couple of freebies, batted well that night to get through, but they bowled poorly. From that perspective, he had the best conditions to come out and bat in. But he got out the same way he always does when he gets over 50, hitting it straight to gully. There’s a lack of awareness there of what he’s got to be mindful of. I don’t think he’s anywhere near where he should be," Warner had told Fox Sports.
Marunus Labuschagne replies to Warner
"I would like to see him check how many times I’ve been caught at gully, because apparently I get out there every week. I’ve looked back, and I can only remember being caught at gully twice. So I might have to have a look at Bull’s (Warner’s) comment there. But like I said, everyone’s here to write newspapers, write articles," Labuschagne told News Corp ahead of Gabba Test.
"It’s a two-edged sword. The week before, I wasn’t playing enough shots, and then this week, people are unhappy because I’m playing too many shots. At the end of the day, I’m not here to please everyone. I’m here to win games for Australia," he added.
"It’s not about trying to convince people I’m back or not. For me, it’s about winning games for Australia and finding ways to score runs. That’s what I did last week, and hopefully, we can have a repeat. When I get that opportunity again, I’ll make sure I convert it into a big score." Labuschagne added, "I was a little bit disappointed to get out at the stage I did last week, but that’s part of the game. The benefit is that it set up the chance for someone else to take advantage of that, which is good," Labuschagne concluded.
Labuschagne was struggling a lot in the Perth Test as he could only score 5 runs across two innings. First, he got out after scoing a 52-ball 2 and then in the final innings could only add three more runs. However, he turned things around in Adelaide and played a crucial 64-run knock. He will again be an important player for the Australian side as they take on India in Gabba starting from December 14.
