Picture Credit: Twitter
Marnus Labuschagne has pretty rapidly cemented his place in the Australian Test team. While his first major chance came after coming in as a concussion substitute, he hasn't really looked back since then and has been among the consistent run-getters in the team.
The right-handed batter though has a very unconventional way of batting and scoring those runs. He often makes strange gestures while leaving the balls outside off and even puts out a loud scream saying "no run" to warn his partner to stay inside his crease. All of this coupled with the success that he has managed to achieve with this unorthodox approach has made him a fascinating character in the world of cricket.
Naturally then in Australia's historic tour of Pakistan fans, a lot of the local fans were seen holding placards and signs revolving around the 27-year-old South Africa-born cricketer. The batter too was in good nick and made an impressive 90 in Australia's first innings in the first Test in Rawalpindi which ended in a draw on Tuesday.
After the match, Marnus shared a series of images in which fans in the stadium can be seen with messages for him. Here is what he wrote in the caption: "It’s been great to see all the signs in the crowd at Rawalpindi ? feeling very welcome #AUSvPAK."
Here is his post:
Close to 1200 runs were scored in first Test for just 14 wickets and the pitch was criticised for its "dead" nature. Renowned Indian cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle was also not impressed with the quality of the pitch on offer in Rawalpindi. He observed that it hasn't been a good week for Test cricket in general with India also winning a Test within three days against Sri Lanka.
The tragic week also saw Shane Warne and Rod Marsh passing away.
"Test cricket needs competitive games played over four innings to hold the interest of those that want to follow it. This week hasn't been good on that front. Hopefully Sri Lanka will be more competitive in Bengaluru and there will be a better surface for the 2nd test in Pakistan," Harsha tweeted.
The second Pakistan-Australia Test will commence on March 12 at the National Stadium in Karachi.