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Marnus tipped for greatness after Shield final epic

NSW and Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon says the Queenslander is quickly climbing the list of the best batters he's bowled to

Marnus Labuschagne was crowned king of the Marsh Sheffield Shield final and his Test and state teammates now believe he could become one of the "greats of the game" in the coming years.

Labuschagne's reputation only swelled further this week after a remarkable 192 against a Test-quality New South Wales attack on a tricky Allan Border Field pitch no other batter passed 50 on.

It capped a season in which he was the only man to score four Shield tons, while he was also the leading run-scorer during Australia's Border Gavaskar Trophy series defeat to India.

Bulls clean up the Blues to win 2020-21 Shield title

Next summer's home Ashes looms as the next major challenge for Labuschagne following his stunning rise from Steve Smith's concussion substitute at Lord's in 2019 to now being the third-ranked Test batter in the world.

Nathan Lyon, who Labuschagne won an intriguing battle against during this week's Shield decider, believes his Test teammate could scale great heights.

"There's a fair few batters on my list (of the best he has bowled to), but Marnus is creeping up there," Lyon said after the Bulls' innings-and-33-run victory.

"In my eyes he's a superstar already, but I think he's got the potential to be one of the greats.

"This is the best I've seen him bat – ever. It's the most patient I've ever seen him. He trusts his defence, he's able to manipulate the field wherever he wants."

Labuschagne and Lyon were the first two players to play all four Tests and feature in every Shield game (including the final) for their states since 1975, yet the Queenslander has no plans to put his feet up just yet.

He will depart for the United Kingdom to join Glamorgan for the county season this week as he chases yet more runs.

Lyon joked that Labuschagne will "go home and bat in his garage" on Sunday after Queensland's Shield title, such is his enjoyment of the game.

The right-hander's last stint with the Welsh county in 2019 was the precursor to not only his breakthrough Ashes success but also a dominant stretch of run-scoring in red-ball cricket.

Labuschagne goes large in Shield final epic

In the 38 first-class matches he has played since, he has scored nearly 4000 runs at an average of 68.26, with 14 hundreds and 19 half-centuries.

His Queensland captain Usman Khawaja says Labuschagne needs to harness his current form, the likes of which he has only previously seen from Steve Smith.

"When he's got his confidence up like he does now – and he's a confident bloke at the best of times … all the little half chance and half things go your way," said Khawaja. "You need to make sure you hold onto it for as long as you can.

"It's been a whirlwind last six months, last few years really, he's come out of nowhere.

"The biggest thing for Marnus was that he wasn't very good at converting when he was younger.

"I remember talking to him about it … during an 'A' series about, making sure he keeps the same tempo (after passing 50), because he had all the shots.

Image Id: 65019A656AF54957990C9D50E63E5DCE Image Caption: Champions! // Getty

"The thing was he had to figure out when to play all the shots.

"His decision making now is as good as any, he understands his game, he understands bowlers and what they're trying to do, it's just beautiful to watch.

"I saw Steve Smith do something similar, if Marnus can do half of what Steve Smith has done, he'll be a very good cricketer."