WATCH: Marnus Labuschagne dismisses Khawaja with a peach of a delivery
Marnus Labuschagne made giant strides in international cricket ever since he came on to the field as a concussion substitute in that Ashes Test, 2019. Touted as one of the next big things in Australian cricket, he has already chipped in with some sensational knocks across formats to reaffirm the trust Australian fans have shown in him.
Very much like his senior man Steve Smith, Lauschagne too had made initial inroads as a leg-spinner and is more than capable of spurring out some crucial overs for the side whenever needed. Occasionally, he pulls off the odd ripper that makes a lot of people take note of his bowling ability. Despite not owning the most impressive of stats, he picked up 12 wickets in Test cricket and manages to give Tim Paine some crucial overs whenever needed.
In a domestic game in Australia, as a part of the “Premier Cricket” competition, Marnus Labuschagne was up against his international teammate Usman Khawaja. Khawaja, who is an exceptional player of spin bowling, was treated with a brilliant delivery pitch around the 4th stump. The ball skid off the surface and caught Khawaja by surprise, thus leaving his stumps shattered.
Marnus jumped in joy to celebrate the big scalp and Khawaja, palpably, was dismayed by the quality he was up against. Not often that a batter of Khawaja’s quality fails to pick up the odd one that hurries in. However, unfortunately for Khawaja, he was at the receiving end of this peach from Labuschagne.
Here’s the video of that delivery.
Marnus Labuschagne claims bragging rights over Usman Khawaja in Premier Cricket!
You can watch live on a @kayosports freebie today pic.twitter.com/dK1AcGSxLv
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) September 4, 2021
Marnus Labuschagne gearing up for the Ashes
The 27-year-old will be desperate to make a huge impression in the Ashes series at home, which begins on 8th December, nearly 25 days after the T20 World Cup comes to a close. He had registered 353 runs in the 4 games he got to play in 2019. Since then, he went on to pile up nearly 2,000 runs in Test cricket at an average of 60.81.
He is going to be a crucial man in Tim Paine’s squad for the Ashes at home, where anything less than a win will disappoint their fans.