Labuschagne plots ODI path in tandem with Smith

Marnus Labuschagne says he is still to nail down an ODI spot but insists he and Steve Smith can flourish as a middle-order pairing as Australia set their sights on next year's World Cup.

Labuschagne has batted 20 times now in ODIs, registering a century and four fifties, and appears very much a part of Australia's plans for next year's 50-over showpiece in India, having batted at either four or five in all eight one-dayers in 2022.

Australia are scheduled to play another 15 ODIs before the tournament in October-November 2023 (excluding any official World Cup warm-ups), and with recent series losses in both Sri Lanka (2-3) and Pakistan (1-2), they will be using those matches to search for a winning formula.

Labuschagne has offered middling contributions in the two Asian series, part of which he puts down to the irregular nature of his appearances in the format; due to both the pandemic and a global push towards more T20 cricket, Australia have only played 24 ODIs since the 2019 World Cup.

That means they will play approximately 40 matches between World Cups – only a little more than half the 76 ODIs they played between the 2015 and 2019 editions. 

"We're certainly targeting that (World Cup) as a group, it's something we're working towards and trying to get the right combinations and fits for the side, and I'm really looking forward to being a part of that," the 28-year-old told cricket.com.au.

"I don't think you can ever make a spot yours, but I certainly haven't been performing as well as I want to in one-day cricket. I don't feel like I've nailed (a position) down.

"And (part of that is) just a general lack of playing, really. We haven't played much, and when you have those big breaks, the tempo is a little bit different from both T20 and Test cricket – it's that middle ground – and sometimes it takes a bit to get used to that."

The right-hander is now setting himself for Australia's ODI assignments in the Top End against Zimbabwe (Townsville) and New Zealand (Cairns) at the end of August and beginning of September, and he feels those series and the recent matches in Asia will provide a steadier diet of 50-over cricket that should aid his quest to become a key contributor to the side.

"I certainly learnt a lot about my own game (against Pakistan and Sri Lanka)," he said. "I felt like just playing more one-day cricket – regardless of the results, or necessarily scoring massive runs – you just learn so much that you can then take forward and use on your next tour.

"These series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand, that's six games, which is a great opportunity to really grow and work on your game, and understand how you want to play.

"It doesn't matter where I bat, the role for me is just to play the situation of the game. If that means I have to play at a higher tempo because we've got off to a really good start, or if that means you have to absorb pressure like we did in that final match against Sri Lanka … that's what you have to do.

"That's where I would really like my game to be at … if I need to go up a gear, then I've got that in the locker, and if I've got to bring the tempo down or coast us to a victory if we're batting second, then that's what I want to do.

"But I want to keep making that middle-order spot one that I'm valued in, and where I can add a lot to the team. That onus comes back on to me as the player – I need to make sure I'm scoring runs consistently."

Labuschagne, who added that he had learned from Pakistan's Babar Azam and Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis during the two ODI series, also dismissed the notion that he and Steve Smith weren't suited to playing in the same one-day side, given their reputations as middle-over accumulators.

And while both players have career strike-rates in the mid-high 80s – Labuschagne 85.80, Smith 88.43 – four of the former's five 50-plus ODI scores have been made at a strike-rate exceeding 100, suggesting an ability to switch gears, while the latter's capabilities on that front have been witnessed at the highest level.

"I find that (idea) slightly hard to take – I mean Steve Smith's last (two) one-day hundreds were off 60 balls," Labuschagne said. "I would never undersell high-class players like that, and their ability to adapt to the conditions and the situation of the game.

"Personally, we love batting together, because I think we can really push the boundaries with the four (fielders) out and get eight runs an over through that middle period. Once you get in a rhythm and momentum on a bowler, I think you can do anything with four out.

"So it's just a matter of being able to continue exploring that. I think over the next little bit we'll find out what works and what doesn't. We've got a lot of one-day cricket coming up.

"I think naturally one-day cricket's gonna demand a higher tempo the majority of the time. You're going to need to play that upbeat (way) through the middle, run hard between wickets, find that boundary with the four fielders out, put the bowlers under pressure.

"And we talk a lot about this in our team – you've just got to find your own way to go about (scoring quickly in) those middle overs. For me, it might be sweeping and using my feet, where for someone else it might be a few more dot balls, but they'll hit a few more boundaries.

"So I think you've got to ask the players a certain question of: 'Can you play that high-tempo game?' And as players, we've got to find a way to say, 'Well, yes, we can'."