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Marnus Labuschagne has gone “back to the drawing board” in a bid to regain his Australia spot for the Ashes, boosted by knowing he was once the top batsman in the world.
The long-time number three in Australia’s batting order was dropped from the Test tour of the West Indies in June-July after a sustained lean spell.
The 58-Test veteran, known for endlessly tinkering with his technique, said it had been an opportunity to “step back mentally” and reassess his approach.
“There’s an analogy — you can try and bash yourself through the wall or you can just open the door and walk in,” he told cricket.com.au. “(That means) train smarter.
“My technique over time hasn’t been where I wanted it to be and probably there’s been a little bit too much time and focus going into trying to get that right, rather than just playing with what I’ve got.”
“But it’s been a nice time to reset, be able to recalibrate and go, ‘Okay I missed that West Indies series, how am I going to get myself ready to play the Ashes?'”
Labuschagne was moved from his regular spot at three to open in the World Test Championship final against South Africa in June, where he scored 17 and 22 in defeat.
But with his replacement, teenager Sam Konstas, struggling at the top of the order, he could be an option to open again alongside Usman Khawaja in the first Test against England on November 21 in Perth.
The 31-year-old could also start at three if all-rounder Cameron Green moves down the order.
Labuschagne has had several stints at the top of the ICC batting rankings and said it was comforting knowing he was once the world’s best.
“The benefit is you know you’ve done it before, right?,” he said.
“Two years ago I was one of the best batters in the world. You know that it’s there and you know you’ve just got to go back to the (drawing) board and find that consistency, that mental clarity, to go out there and perform.”
