It was in Bloemfontein in September when Marnus Labuschagne first mentioned how his mom Alta had a feeling her son would play in a match for which he wasn’t selected.
The way the cards have fallen for Labuschagne since made a sequence of events impossible to script.
Labuschagne couldn’t properly explain, himself, how circumstances had led to him being on the field, not out on 58, as Glenn Maxwell struck the winning runs in the World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. “I’m a man of faith and believe in God and the way everything has happened is unbelievable,” Labuschagne said afterwards.
It felt like something out of the realms of fantasy that Labuschagne found himself in that position, having played a vital role in a match-winning partnership against India with Travis Head that sealed a sixth ODI World title for Australia.
“Three months ago I wasn’t even supposed to be in South Africa, in the One-Day team and to play 19 games straight since then, I can’t explain it. I just give thanks to God for that,” Labuschagne said.
In Bloemfontein in September, Labuschagne was late joining the squad for the five-match series against the Proteas because Steve Smith needed extra time to heal a wrist injury. Alta Labuschagne’s premonition came true, however, when Cameron Green was struck on the head by a bouncer from Kagiso Rabada. Her son came into that match as a concussion substitute and marshalled a tricky chase with an unbeaten 80.
With Green out of the series, Labuschagne retained his spot and scored 124 in the second match — also in Bloemfontein, as Australia took a 2-0 lead in that series. They would lose it 3-2, but a calf injury to Ashton Agar meant Labuschagne was then picked for a three-match series in India that preceded the World Cup.
Andrew McDonald, Australia’s coach, shoved off concerns about replacing a bowling all-rounder with a batter when it was confirmed Labuschagne was called up to the World Cup squad. Initially it was felt he and Steve Smith couldn’t bat together because the pace at which they played was the same.
They ended up playing 10 matches together, though Labuschagne would have been dropped for the Afghanistan match, until Smith withdrew with vertigo.
Before that, Labuschagne was also going to be axed for the game against England but retained his place because Mitchell Marsh had to go home to tend to a family matter. There was the argument that raged, seemingly throughout that tournament, about whether Marcus Stoinis was the right option for the starting side because his strike rate was better and he could bowl. Labuschagne still retained his spot because he was a better fielder — or so one argument went.
Labuschagne was responsible for three run-outs in the tournament and still kept his place despite modest returns in his primary job — batting. He finished with three half-centuries, an average of 40.22 and a strike rate of 70.70. It is worth repeating; He was on the field when Australia won the World Cup.
“It’s amazing, I’m lost for words. The amount of times I thought ‘I’m done’ — even last [Saturday] night the team wasn’t named until 10pm. I thought when coming to the ground and because of the dew, they might go some other way, but I’m so grateful to the selectors for sticking with me. I don’t have words to explain.”
That’s because it’s impossible to do so. So much of elite sport involves careful planning. And then there is luck. But in Labuschagne’s case, it was a series of fortunate incidents that led to him arriving at the crease with Australia on 47/3, amid a cacophony from more than 100,000 spectators as India threatened to confirm their superiority in this World Cup.
Labuschagne dug in, absorbed dot ball after dot ball, put Head on strike with well-taken singles, he ran hard, supported his mate and at the end of it all he picked up a World Cup winners' medal.
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