A difficult three-year period at Test level led to the long-time top-order batter being dropped for a series in the West Indies and potentially missing this summer\u2019s Ashes against England.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Nevertheless, the 31-year-old has started strongly, scoring four centuries in five innings across three List A matches and two Sheffield Shield games for Queensland.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He was named in Australia\u2019s squad for the ongoing three-match ODI series against India, but missed out of the playing XI and was benched for the first game at Perth. Speaking to Fox Cricket on the sidelines, Labuschagne said he\u2019s ready to bat wherever the selectors and coach want him to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWherever the selectors and coach put me, that\u2019s where I\u2019ll be batting. But I\u2019ve batted my whole career for Australia at three. So, there\u2019s nothing more to be said, wherever they put me (I will bat). (The Ashes are) always in the back of your mind. I always just kept telling myself that if I\u2019m playing at my best, that stuff takes care of itself,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Since the beginning of the domestic summer on September 17, Labuschagne has recorded scores of 130, two, 160, 105, 159, and 18. These performances almost guarantee his selection for the Ashes, especially as the rest of the country\u2019s top order batters have struggled early in the season.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Labuschagne was clearly lacking form and confidence before he was dropped, but the former Test player of the year believes that nothing has helped him more than his scoring spree.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always nice when you\u2019re scoring runs, you probably walk a bit taller, you\u2019ve got that confidence, and it\u2019s probably a nice reminder for yourself after struggling for a couple of years that you\u2019ve still got it. It doesn\u2019t matter how good you are or how many runs you\u2019ve scored, when you don\u2019t score runs for a while, those doubts creep in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Labuschagne was clearly lacking form and confidence before he was dropped, but the former Test player of the year believes that nothing has helped him more than his scoring spree.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Labuschagne featured in 104 innings of 58 Tests for Australia and has 4435 runs in his kitty, including 11 hundreds and 23 half-centuries. He has maintained an average of 46.19 and a strike rate of 51.67 in the longest format of the game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n