Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne continued his remarkable form for Queensland at the domestic circuit and made it five centuries from 8 innings. He played a fine knock of 101 runs from 111 deliveries against New South Wales in the One-Day Cup, guiding his team to a 96-run victory at Sydney's Cricket Central on Monday.
After being axed from the Australian Test squad before the three-match series against West Indies in June, Labuschagne is likely to make a return to the team ahead of the crucial Ashes series against England. The 31-year-old has been nothing short of incredible for Queensland.
Labuschagne's exceptional run of form
He began his scoring spree with a century against Victoria in the One-Day Cup in September before playing a monumental knock of 160 in the Sheffield Shield against Tasmania. His third ton also came against Tasmania, but this time in the One-Day Cup and he followed that up with a superb inning of 159 against South Australia in the Sheffield Shield. Finally, his fifth hundred of the season came in the One-Day Cup against New South Wales.
Labuschagne's record in Test cricket
If Labuschagne does get picked for The Ashes and continues his red-hot form, then he can turn out to be a major problem for the England bowlers. Though the batter hadn't been in the best of form in the format with his last century coming in July of 2023, he still has a phenomenal record in red-ball cricket. The 31-year-old has so far played 58 Tests, scoring a total of 4435 runs, including 11 centuries and 23 fifties. Despite of a dip in form, he still boasts a blistering average of 46.19 in the format.
Meanwhile, Australia have confirmed that they will be without the services of regular captain Pat Cummins for the first Ashes Test that is set to commence from November 21 at the Optus stadium in Perth. In his absence, Steve Smith will be the one leading the team. Though this is a big blow for the Baggy Greens, they will still likely be the favourites to win the encounter over their arch-rivals.