Ahead of the 2025/26 Ashes, Marnus Labuschagne continued with his excellent form as he scored his fourth hundred in five innings.
Marnus’ amazing streak...
Labuschagne came into the game with some excellent performances in club cricket, followed by three hundreds in his four games across two formats. The streak began with 130 against Victoria in the One-Day Cup.
He made only two runs in his next game, against Western Australia before making 160 against Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield. Switching back to the One-Day Cup, he then made 105 against Tasmania two days after being dropped from the ODIs against India.
All these matches, however, were on home turf, at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane. His next game, another Sheffield Shield encounter, was against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval.
Here, the hosts were bowled out for 228 after Labuschagne won the toss and opted to field. Michael Neser (4-30) and Mitchell Swepson (4-50) shared eight wickets, while Conor McInerney (60) and Jason Sangha (51) made half-centuries. Labuschagne joined Usman Khawaja at 33-1.
... does not seem to end
Labuschagne’s golden run continued here. Khawaja fell for 46 and Jack Clayton for 13, but they helped him put on 76 and 79 for the second and third wickets. Then he added another 136 with Lachlan Hearne before Wes Agar (3-48) had him caught behind.
By then, Labuschagne had scored 159 in 197 balls with 19 fours and a six. This was his 34th hundred in first-class cricket and his third (and highest) against South Australia.
When bad light stopped play, Queensland were 319-6 with Hearne (62) and Neser (2) at the crease.
Match 6, South Australia vs Queensland
vs
- Ball by ball Over
Is Labuschagne like to play in the Ashes?
The top-ranked Test batter in the world not too long ago, Labuschagne’s Test average still stands at 46.19 – a very impressive number in a bowling era – but it reads 29.88 across his last 25 Tests. A regular one-drop for Australia, the team management even tried him out as Khawaja’s opening partner in the World Test Championship 2023-2025 final: he scored 17 and 22, and lost his place in the XI.
With the Ashes around the corner, uncertainty looms over Australia’s top three. Khawaja is himself out of form. It is not clear who his opening partner will be. An early supporter of Cameron Green, Greg Chappell has voiced concerns over the youngster’s position at No.3. In these circumstances, Labuschagne’s rich vein of form will certainly go in his favour.
