Australia's Marnus Labuschagne gets philosophical about batting ahead of Test match return

The Baggy Greens are set for a potential 22 Test matches should they reach the World Test Championship final at The Oval next June.

As such, Labuschagne and others have been well rested ahead of the push for a second consecutive WTC final. The South African-born star has played no cricket whatsoever since 14 June.

And there's been plenty of reflection during that time. Labuschagne's last century came in July 2023, no less than 42 Test matches ago.

"When you've missed out a few times, you get a little greedy and start searching for runs and you are not letting the game come to you," the 32-year-old told ESPN.

"It's really important for me to not get too invested in the runs. We want the runs, but we want the process and that is what I am looking for.

"The runs will come as the journey goes on if I keep trusting my game. I think that's what I did really well through that period that I went really well. I trusted my game, trusted how I went about batting, reading the game and understanding what the team needed from me in that moment. That's what I'm looking forward to.

"There were a few dismissals last summer, where you're going well and you just rush the process. You want to get to that three-figure score rather than staying in the moment.

"I've reflected a lot over these last two months about when I played my best cricket. It was just letting the game come to me."

The innings Labuschagne is referring to came during the Ashes, where he had several starts - a 65 in Brisbane to go with 37 and 48 in Sydney - but failed to kick on against a poor England attack.  

Now, Labuschagne gets a chance to start anew. First up are two Tests against Bangladesh on the Gold Coast. This is followed by a tantilising tour of South Africa for a three-match series against the reigning Test champions in October.

"It's certainly very important to start these two Tests well," he added.