Marnus Labuschagne

Marnus Labuschagne ( or ; born 22 June 1994) is an Australian professional international cricketer who plays domestically for Queensland, Glamorgan in county cricket and for Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League.

Labuschagne has been ranked as high as no.1 in the ICC Test batting rankings, and is considered as one of the best Test batsmen in the world.

Labuschagne was a member of the Australian team that won the 2023 ICC World Test Championship final and the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.

Labuschagne was born in Klerksdorp, North West Province, South Africa.

His family emigrated to Australia in 2004 when he was 10, after his father gained work in the mining industry, and Labuschagne attended school at Brisbane State High School.

He grew up speaking Afrikaans, and only became fluent in English after moving to Australia.

In 2021, he revealed that in November 2010, he worked at The Gabba, Brisbane, as a Hot Spot infrared camera operator for Channel 9, and witnessed Peter Siddle's hat-trick during the 2010–11 Ashes series, on Siddle's 26th birthday.

A right-handed batsman, Labuschagne played for Queensland at under-12, under-15, under-17, and under-19 level, and captained the side at the 2012–13 National Championships.

In Brisbane Grade Cricket, he plays for Easts-Redlands District Cricket Club.

He spent 2013 playing club cricket in England for Plymouth in the Devon Premier League and played for Sandwich Town Cricket Club in the Kent Premier League in 2014, scoring prolifically for both sides.

He represented Queensland at various levels in junior cricket, before making his first-class cricket debut in 2014.

After playing just once for Queensland Academy, Labuschagne made his first-class cricket debut in the first round of the 2014–15 Sheffield Shield season against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval.

Opening the batting with Joe Burns, he scored 83 runs in Queensland's first innings, featuring in a 99-run fourth-wicket partnership with Nick Stevens.

Later in the 2014–15 season, Labuschagne was used as a substitute fielder for the Australian national side in the second Test against India at the Gabba, taking a low catch at short leg.

Labuschagne made his List A debut for Queensland in the 2015 One-Day Cup in October 2015 and scored his maiden first-class century in the following month, making 112 runs in his eighth Sheffield Shield match.

He scored 273 runs at a batting average of 45 in the 2016 One-Day Cup and was named player of the tournament.

In September 2017, during a 2017 One-Day Cup match between Queensland and Cricket Australia XI, he became the first fielder to be penalised under the newly introduced Law designed to stop fielders deceiving batsmen.

Labuschagne dived to field a ball in the covers, and although he failed to stop the ball he feigned throwing to the wicket-keeper.

His team was penalised five runs.

After being Queensland's leading run-scorer in the 2017–18 Sheffield Shield, Cricket Australia named him in their Sheffield Shield team of the season.

In September 2018, he was named in Australia's Test squad for their series against Pakistan.

He made his Test debut for Australia against Pakistan on 7 October 2018, scoring a two-ball duck in his first innings and 13 runs in his second.

He also took two wickets on debut.

He had his baggy green cap presented by Michael Hussey.

In the second Test, he took another five wickets and made scores of 25 and 43, top scoring in Australia's second innings.

Marnus was named in the Australian One Day International squad in December 2018 ahead of the team's tour of India the following year before he was surprisingly added to the Australian Test squad for the fourth Test match against the touring Indians at the start of the year.

He was selected to bat at number three in the batting order, a decision which was "heavily criticised" at the time.

He scored 38 runs in his only innings and was retained in the side for the two Tests against Sri Lanka at the end of the summer.

In August 2019, Labuschagne was the first cricketer to become a concussion substitute in a Test match, replacing Steve Smith.

Labuschagne was the leading run-scorer in Test matches in 2019.

He rose to fourth place in the ICC Player Rankings during the year, a rise of 106 places.

In April 2019, Labuschagne signed for Glamorgan County Cricket Club for the 2019 English cricket season.

He made 1,114 runs in his first County Championship season, including three centuries in his first four first-class matches - one of which was a then career-best 182 against Sussex in a Glamorgan record second-wicket partnership of 291.

He was the second-highest scorer in the Second Division of the County Championship, despite only playing in ten matches, and topped Glamorgan's batting averages with an average of 61.89 runs per innings.

He also took 19 wickets with a bowling average of 38.11.

In November 2019, he re-signed for Glamorgan for the next two seasons following his performances in the 2019 Ashes.

After showing good early season form for Glamorgan in county cricket, he was named in Australia's squad for the 2019 Ashes series in England.

In January 2020, Labuschagne was named as the ICC Men's Emerging Cricketer of the Year by the International Cricket Council (ICC), in February as Australia's Test player of the year, and in April as one of the five Cricketers of the Year by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

Labuschagne was born in Klerksdorp, in South Africa's North West province, to South African parents.

In June 2020, Labuschagne's contract was extended for an extra season following the disruption of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.