Picture Credit: Twitter
If there is one cricketer in modern era who is pure entertainment when he is batting, it has to be Australia's Marnus Labuschagne. The 27-year-old has some unorthodox antics which has often proven to be quite effective for him and extremely amusing for the fans. From his unique style of leaving the deliveries to his constant commentary on the field, Labuschagne is undoubtedly box office in Test cricket.
Another demonstration of his craziness was on display during Day 1 of 2nd Ashes Test in Adelaide. Marcus Harris had been dismissed quite early in the innings, thanks to some brilliant piece of glovework by Jos Buttler. Out walked Australia's No. 3 - Marnus Labuschagne - who needed to put up a solid partnership with David Warner against the experienced English bowling line-up.
Labuschagne gets a life on 21
The pink ball was doing its thing and the conditions were quite challenging for the batsmen. This is where Marnus actually thrives as he produced another Test batting masterclass in first half of the day. He left balls in his own style, constantly irritating the bowlers. When he defended, he was heard shouting 'no run' on numerous occasions as he looked absolutely focused on playing a big knock.
However, he did lose his concentration for a moment when he attempted a pull shot off Ben Stokes and the ball went to Jos Buttler, who dropped a tough catch. Labuschange got a life and he made sure that he won't repeat his mistake again.
When Stokes tried to bowl more short-pitch deliveries, Labuschagne had only one response - Duck the ball! However, something that caught everyone's attention was the fact that the right-handed batsman was not just leaving the ball but he was also appreciating himself for controlling his urge (of playing a pull shot).
The stump pic caught him saying, "Well played Marn" when he ducked the bouncer which reflected that he was seriously in no mood of playing another rash shot off Stokes' bouncer.
Watch the video here:
As it turned out, Marnus Labuschagne kept his focus and his score read 43* off 151 deliveries at the time of writing, with Australia cruising at 113/1 in 50 overs.