Labuschagne leading Bulls charge to Gabba Test

A triple-header of Marsh Sheffield Shield matches at the Gabba will be the perfect run-in to the Test summer for the bevy of Queenslanders looking to run out in front of their home crowd for the summer's first Test match.

Incumbent Test batsman Marnus Labuschagne will be chief among them, as will state captain Usman Khawaja who is seeking a recall after being dropped midway through the Ashes series, while the early season form of Joe Burns and Matthew Renshaw – albeit in the middle order during the Marsh One-Day Cup – raises the potential of a strong Queensland flavour for the first Domain Test against Pakistan.

Labuschagne, who credited a steady diet of cricket in the hectic County cricket schedule with Glamorgan before he made his stunning Ashes introduction, says that rhythm of regular cricket will be key to extending his stunning run of form.

The Queenslander hit five centuries and a further five fifties with Glamorgan to pile up 1,114 runs at 66.52 in just 18 first-class innings before joining up with Australia's Ashes Test squad, where he then posted four half-centuries on the trot when coming in as a concussion substitute for Steve Smith at Lord's.

"I probably haven't had a purple patch like that before but hopefully it continues," Labuschagne told cricket.com.au. “In England the benefit you have is you play so much cricket you can get on a really good run with your batting, you're batting day in day out there's no real break.

"In Australia we can have quite big breaks between games so I think that actually really worked in my favour because I started batting really well and then momentum and rhythm with my batting improved.

"I definitely learned about batting over there, and how to play in those conditions and that kept me in good stead (when not playing in the first one-and-a-half Ashes Tests).

"At the moment we are playing a lot of cricket (for Queensland) so for me it's about hitting a lot of balls, so if I'm not doing that in a game, I need to be doing that in the nets just to get that rhythm and feel for your batting and your decision-making.

"I do love hitting balls and I do love training, but I'll just hit as much as I need, it's more of a 'feel' thing.

"It's not about a certain number, it's just a feel like you've got the rhythm, timing of the movements. It's different for each individual, but that's just me."

Labuschagne made his Test debut in the UAE against Pakistan in October 2018 but didn't play a home Test until the fourth match last summer, against India at the SCG, before turning out against Sri Lanka at the Gabba.

It was a meteoric rise for the livewire 25-year-old but given his exploits of the northern winter he enters this home season with more of an air of expectation around his name, of which he is acutely aware.

"If you're playing for the Australian Test team there's always a spotlight on you, it doesn't matter what the situation," Labuschagne says.

"For me it's about doing my job and scoring runs if I'm picked. That's the role. There's no, 'well, he's done alright', it's all about the here-and-now and the only currency is runs and performance.

"That's what I said to myself at the end of last summer, let the focus be on runs and nothing else."

That narrow-minded focus on runs has Labuschagne turning his attention more to extending Queensland's unbeaten run in the Marsh One-Day Cup than the Gabba Test for now, but that goal continues to provide motivation.

"My focus now is just on every game I'm playing, it doesn't matter who I'm playing for," Labuschagne said.

"It's just making sure you're focused on each game ahead, you don't want to get too far ahead because cricket works in funny ways, you've got to stay focused on the here and now."

While the English crowds created an atmosphere unlike any he'd experienced before, the Queenslander is looking forward to having grandstands full of supporters.

"It makes a massive difference in terms of atmosphere and the feel when you walk out when everyone is behind you," Labuschagne said.

"Having played the (northern) summer in England it's been completely the opposite, and you could see how they set off the energy (for the England team).

"It's great to gear up for a summer where we'll have the crowd behind us against some really good opposition."

The Barmy Army didn't come up with any songs for the previously unheralded batsman, but he wasn't spared being targeted by the vocal locals in the crowd.

"I had one guy yell out 'I'd rather have pasta than you, Lasagne', which I thought was pretty funny," he said.

But amusing riffs on his tongue-twisting surname aside, there is one date Labuschagne has circled on the calendar.

"As a kid growing up, you absolutely loved watching the Boxing Day Test," he said.

"It's a long way away and you try and stay focused and not get too far ahead of yourself but definitely, Boxing Day would be amazing to play in front of 90,000 people. It would be a real treat."