Australia’s star batter, Marnus Labuschagne, is excited to face England's attack, especially legendary pacer James Anderson, in the upcoming Ashes 2021-22, starting on December 8 in Brisbane.
In the upcoming Ashes series, all eyes will be on Labuschagne as one of the key batters for the Australian team, and he wants to deliver consistently for his team in his maiden Ashes at home to become an integral part of the setup.
The 27-year-old has had a remarkable rise ever since he replaced Steve Smith as a concussion substitute during the second Test of the Ashes 2019 in England and he has never looked back by any means. The cricketer admitted that he was lucky to get that opportunity.
Now, he has become a regular member of the Australian Test team and averages over 60 in Test cricket, making him only the fourth Australian batter in history to achieve the feat.
Labuschagne told reporters, “I was lucky to get the opportunity in 2019 and go on with it. The target is on the back now. I've got great examples from this generation to look up to…Williamson, Smith, Root, Warner, Kohli….who consistently score runs.”
He also admitted that English pacers might try to take a leaf out of India’s book and make an attempt to replicate their performances from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020–21 in the Ashes 2021–22.
The right-hander added, “They certainly can try. India is very used to bowling those plans that come second nature to them. Bowling straight on lower bouncing wickets, up and down where it's reversing. In England, traditionally, they're bowling a little bit wider. I can't tell you what they're going to bring, but I can just prepare for everything that might be thrown at me.”
On the lack of red-ball preparations of Australia's T20 World Cup 2021 winning players for the Ashes, Labuschagne said: “Everyone's been preparing well wherever they've been. It's time for us to gel, get the banter back in the squad, and get the band going again.”
The Australia star was overlooked for a Test leadership post, but he "wasn't disappointed" with it and backed the appointments of Pat Cummins and Smith as Test captain and vice-captain, respectively.
Labuschagne signed off by saying, “I think they're the right people for the job right now. Captaincy and vice-captaincy are something that you don't search for, it's something that comes to you. If it does come down the track, I'll be thankful, and if it doesn't, I'll also be happy because I'll just hopefully be scoring runs for Australia.”
(With ESPNCricinfo Inputs)
