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'Attached at the hip': Aussies' twin batting terrors reunite

Great friends Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith hadn't seen each other since January, and the pair have been making up for lost time

The assembly of Australia's Ashes squad in Brisbane this week has also provided a happy reunion between fast friends, cricket tragics and the glue of the Test middle order, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith.

Injuries and conflicting commitments have resulted in the star-studded pair travelling very different roads to the Ashes this year, with Labuschagne feasting largely on a diet of red-ball cricket and Smith returning from a chronic elbow injury to take part in Australia's winning T20 World Cup campaign in the Middle East.

 

But it quickly became clear that the time apart had done nothing to diminish the budding bromance, as the pair bickered over imaginary runs, wickets and field placings in the Redlands nets today.

"It's been nice to catch up with him again," Labuschagne said from his Premier Cricket home ground in Brisbane's east, where the Australians took part in an optional centre-wicket session that was not attended by Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, David Warner or Usman Khawaja.

"We were saying yesterday the last time I saw him was the last Test at the Gabba (in January). So it's a long time … We've been attached at the hip for the last few days."

If England are to emerge victorious from this five-Test series come January 18, finding a way to curb Australia's twin run-scoring terrors will likely have played a massive part in that success.

Since the last time the two sides squared off for the Ashes, Labuschagne has been on a remarkable run in Test cricket, scoring five hundreds in nine matches while averaging 82.62.

Labuschagne lights up Gabba with delightful 108

The right-hander had a four-ball encounter with Jimmy Anderson (who was injured in the 2019 Ashes and did not play against Labuschagne) during this year's County Championship, with the Englishman winning their dual via a caught behind.

But the Queenslander's form in the Marsh Sheffield Shield (455 runs at 65, with two hundreds) has him feeling confident ahead of the first Test at the Gabba from next Wednesday.

"It's going to be great fun. I really can't wait to face Jimmy – I've spoken about his quality a lot … and it's going to be a really exciting challenge," the world's number four ranked Test batter said.

"I can't tell you what they're going to bring (in terms of tactics against him) but I can just prepare for everything that might be thrown at me.

"The target is on your back now that you're scoring runs and you're a main part of that team, but I've got great examples that I've seen in this generation – Williamson, Root, Smith, Warner, Kohli – those guys are consistent performers for a long period of time, so they're really good examples of people to look up to, to see how you have to manage the pressure of continually scoring runs."

Smith meanwhile hasn't played first-class cricket since February but the 32-year-old is said to have taken plenty from the centre-wicket practice sessions the World Cup contingent of the Test squad were permitted during their quarantine on the Gold Coast.

At Redlands today, he looked in excellent touch during a centre-wicket session, the right-hander regularly punching the likes of Michael Neser and Mark Steketee to the cover boundary off both front foot and back.

Smith averages 57.27 at the Gabba with five hundreds from 11 matches but it is his imposing Ashes record has Labuschagne insisting England will be bringing a multitude of plans to the Gabba in an attempt to stop him.

The world's number two ranked Test batter has scored a staggering 1,969 runs at 93.76 in 14 matches across the past three Ashes series, with eight hundreds.

His nearest rival through the same period is England captain Joe Root, whose tally of 1,163 runs from 15 matches falls a distant 806 runs shy of Smith's.

"I'm sure they're going to try everything … I know I certainly would if I was playing someone who averages 100 (against you)," Labuschagne said.

"There's something about an Ashes that really brings out the best in him. He can't wait for it to start.

"I can't say what (England) are going to come up with but I'm sure they're going to throw the kitchen sink (at him)."

During today's centre-wicket session, Labuschagne teamed up with middle-order hopeful Travis Head for some valuable time in the middle, with Smith partnered by incumbent opener Marcus Harris.

Vodafone Men's Ashes

Squads

Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith (vc), Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner

England: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Schedule

First Test: December 8-12, The Gabba

Second Test: December 16-20, Adelaide Oval

Third Test: December 26-30, MCG

Fourth Test: January 5-9, SCG

Fifth Test: January 14-18, Perth Stadium