Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne has said that he holds himself to a much higher standard after his struggle in the Ashes opener as he has been studying where things went wrong for him in Edgbaston. Labuschagne will make a return to Lord’s for the second Test, which holds significance as it was the venue where his career gained momentum in 2019 when he replaced Smith as a concussion substitute. Since then, he has showcased remarkable consistency, accumulating 10 Test centuries and occasionally maintaining an average above 60. But he is currently experiencing a relatively less productive phase, having scored two half-centuries and maintaining an average of 33.14 in his previous 17 innings.

‘Uncharacteristic dismissals’

The 29-year-old failed to perform in the Ashes opener as the batter got out for a duck in the first innings and followed it up with a score of 13 in the second innings. As a result, he lost his place at the top of the world Test rankings to England’s Joe Root. “They were very uncharacteristic dismissals to how I’ve usually played. That’s why I was pretty frustrated with myself to get out that way and asked myself the question, ‘why did I play at those deliveries?,” Labuschagne said of his dismissals at Edgbaston, confirming that he’s backing himself to find the answer. He was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.