After the congratulations were complete at St George’s Park on Thursday and the Australians milled on the outfield for a moment, Marnus Labuschagne lingered a few metres behind his teammates and appeared to be taking the whole ground in.
Then he offered a wave back up towards the broadcast booth. Had he been back in Australia midway through a tour, it could have been interpreted as a wave goodbye to Test cricket. And that prospect remains in place heading to Cape Town.
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But it is far from certain this will be the Test that ends his career and the man who was once ranked the world’s best Test batsman might just have one last chance to save his spot in what is a massive Test match for Australia.
After an innings and 31 run loss, Australian captain Pat Cummins declared Labuschagne is doing the hard work, but there are clear questions around his decision making which deepened after his disastrous dismissal on Wednesday.
There will be a significant spotlight on the Australian side in Cape Town, the scene of the ‘sandpapergate saga’ eight years ago, as the tourists seek to identify a combination capable of clinching the series decider between the world’s top Test teams.
With Cameron Green facing up to bowlers in the nets for the first time in the series on Thursday morning, it looks likely he will return barring any setbacks, which will almost certainly see Matt Renshaw return to open in place of Nic Maddinson.
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Marnus Labuschagne cut a sombre figure during post-Test handshakes, and lingered for some time.Source: FOX SPORTS
The spotlight will clearly be on Labuschagne with good reason, and also champion off-spinner Nathan Lyon and the struggling all-rounder Beau Webster, with Josh Inglis looming as another possibility to come into the team as well.
After the debacle of Wednesday when Australia was bowled out for 99, Travis Head laid down a marker for the Australians with a fine 121, while Scott Boland posted a career-high score of 40 and Alex Carey found a semblance of form as well.
While Steve Smith fell to his arch rival Kagiso Rabada when top-edging the Proteas paceman with a shoddy shot in the circumstances, it is the place of Labuschagne that is in question.
The No.3 has gone more than three years and 47 innings without a century, but he has passed 30 in three of his four innings here, which is something his superstar mate Smith is yet to manage once.
With Inglis largely unproven at Test level, and coming off a finger injury, there is no clear standout replacement for Labuschagne waiting in the wings among the tourists. And Cummins noted he is “hitting the ball well”.
“I think that I said this earlier, but I think the hardest thing about opening or batting at three is actually getting yourself in,” Cummins said.
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“The balls are normally doing a fair bit. You got fresh bowlers and he’s actually doing the hard bit (by) getting to 30s. I think he’s got to find a way to turn those into bigger scores (because) 30s aren’t going to win you too many matches.”
There is conjecture as to exactly what Labuschagne is doing wrong.
Greg Chappell told foxsports.com.au at the SCG last month he believed Labuschagne was suffering from what he calls “Elite Performance Decline Syndrome”, with mental fragility a symptom of the dip in average and impact.
Marnus Labuschagne had formed a good partnership with subsequent centurion Travis Head when he threw his wicket away on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)Source: AP
Others believe he remains too front on with his chest when defending and is prone to nicking to slips, which was what occurred in the opening innings when he edged Anrich Nortje to Simon Harmer.
Cummins is in the camp of the former, saying it his decision making in question, which is understandable after the choice to try to smack Harmer over the fence into a heavy wind led to his downfall when Australia was batting to save the Test.
“It’s certainly not a technique error. It’s … maybe a couple of decision makings, some decisions (when) maybe the game demanded something a little bit different,” the Australian captain said.
“So again, we’ll work on that in the next couple days. (We) think he’s hitting the ball well. We’ve said that earlier.
“(There’s) one Test match left in the series (and) we’ve got to win this and then obviously there’s a big break, or there’s a bit of a break before the summer. But I’m sure, like the rest of us, the next three days (for him is) about ‘How do we win next week?’”
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South African captain Temba Bavuma, who earned man of the match honours for his superb 179, was quizzed as to whether the Proteas were mindful that Labuschagne was increasingly susceptible to falling after getting a start.
There was period in his career where he, too, failed to make the most of bright starts but since being elevated to the captaincy of the Proteas, he has made four of his five Test centuries. He, too, thinks it is a mental issue for Marnus.
“I think I’m probably the last person to speak, right, in terms of getting starts and not going big (but) I guess he’s within that phase, right, as a cricketer,” he said.
“I think that’s probably the frustrating thing as a better when you are getting to 30 and 40, and you’re not able to go and get the big scores. I mean, he’s doing all the hard work.
“I think generally, from what I’ve learned, it’s more a mental thing, you know. And I think only he will know what’s happening in his head when he gets into those moments? But he’s definitely going to be thinking about it when he gets to 30 and 40.
“I think the moment he sees himself getting past those moments, that’s when he’ll kind of get his confidence and belief (back).”
But he said the Proteas did not lift their intensity against Labuschagne – it remained steady – and pointed out that an ignorance of the conditions at St George’s Park was a factor in his ill-conceived decision to try to loft Harmer over mid-on.
“I think for us as a team, honestly, we try to keep the same intensity,” Bavuma said.
“We try to execute our plans to the different batters and I guess make it hard for them to score runs. And just quickly, yesterday, those are the nuances again of playing here in St George’s. You can kind of see a shortish boundary (and) underestimate the fact that the wind plays a factor.
“Those are the small things about playing at St George’s. If you haven’t played here, they can get you.”