'Rapid' Warner brings Marnus up to speed

The Australian cricket team may have finally found the secret to quelling Marnus Labuschagne's seemingly boundless levels of energy on the cricket field – the elite fitness of the rejuvenated David Warner.

Labuschagne's immense vigour and enthusiasm for the game has been his calling card since he found his feet as a Test player during the Ashes this year, with teammates saying the Queenslander's cricketing obsession even surpasses that of renowned batting junkie, Steve Smith.

But after he batted for the better part of 70 overs with Warner in Adelaide on Friday, having also spent 40 overs in the middle with the opener at the Gabba last week, Labuschagne was visibly drained.

Despite the unseasonably chilly late spring Adelaide temperatures, the unbroken 294-run stand between Warner and Labuschagne on Friday was a testament to immense mental and physical endurance as much as technical acumen.

The pair hit 34 boundaries between them – roughly one every two overs and most square of the wicket against a Pakistan attack that bowled far too short – but the rest came in 22-yard bursts, with 84 hastily scampered singles adding to a run rate that had swelled beyond four runs an over by the close of play.

Warner's running between wickets had been a feature of his century last week in Brisbane, where his total of 154 included just 10 fours as he exploited the vast Gabba outfield to run his opponents off their feet in the warm conditions.

But in Adelaide, it wasn't only the Pakistani fielders who were feeling the pinch.

"I don't know how he does it," Labuschagne told cricket.com.au after he and Warner had powered Australia to a day-one total of 1-302.

"(He's 33) and he's still got me covered between the wickets.

"He's superb, he's shown a great level of fitness to do that in back-to-back games. He's rapid."

While Labuschagne conceded his partner's speed and agility had caught him off guard at times during his innings, he more than matched his partner for intensity when they came together at the end of every over, and sometimes more frequently than that.

The 25-year-old said he relished the bubble of energy the pair created around themselves as they encouraged, advised and counselled the other through almost an entire day (and night) of batting, each man the perfect foil for the other as the overs and runs continued to tick by.

"We're very similar in that sense, where we have the same sort of intensity at the crease," said Labuschagne, who was unbeaten on 126 at stumps, just a week after posting his maiden Test hundred in Brisbane.

"We really engage with each other, what the bowler's doing, the field.

"And our running between wickets, we really try and run as hard as we can and put the bowlers in the field under pressure, not just for an hour or two hours but the whole innings.

"There's some players that like to be in their own bubble and their own thoughts. Me and Davey are not like that, we really like to get into the contest.

"And we can see when each other is slipping as well, because we're similar personalities out there. If there's a loose shot … he comes down and says, 'Mate, it's going to come. Just be patient'. It's really nice."

Domain Test Series v Pakistan

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner

Pakistan squad: Azhar Ali (c), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan Snr, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah.

First Test: Australia won by an innings and five runs.

Second Test: November 29 – December 3, Adelaide (d/n) (Seven, Fox & Kayo)