Labuschagne the Marn for all formats: Warner

Multi-format superstar David Warner believes in-form Test batsman Marnus Labuschagne possesses the attributes to thrive in one-day and Twenty20 cricket.

Labuschagne has made an impressive start to his career in Baggy Green since his October 2018 debut, piling on 748 runs at 46.75, including Saturday's maiden hundred in his 10th Test.

Warner shared a 129-run stand with Labuschagne across days two and three at the Gabba, and the 33-year-old, who has been among the world's outstanding three-format batsmen for the past five years, was impressed with what he saw. 

"He was great to feed off out there, and his energy between the wickets and the way he came out and started, I looked up at the scoreboard and he was on 50 straight away," Warner told cricket.com.au. 

"That's the energy and excitement he brings to the game – he's a fast scorer and I think his white-ball game is going to come into it as well. I think he's definitely a three-format player."

Labuschagne is yet to feature for Australia in the limited-overs formats but he has been a star performer with Queensland at one-day domestic level since 2016. In six innings in 2019, he has made 364 runs at 60.66 with a strike-rate of 100.55 (including a maiden hundred), while he has tallied 926 runs at 51.44 (SR 93.63) across his past three one-day domestic tournaments.

In T20 cricket, he has only had limited opportunities since being picked up by the Brisbane Heat ahead of the 2016-17 KFC Big Bash season, playing seven times for a highest score of 20. 

That small sample size has by no means dimmed the view of new Heat coach Darren Lehmann, whose only issue with the 25-year-old is one of potential availability due to his burgeoning international career. 

"From a Heat point of view, he's a smart cricketer, he bowls those extra overs (of leg-spin) – sometimes you need that in your top six – and we know what he's capable of with the bat, so he's certainly an all-format package," Lehmann told cricket.com.au.

"There's no reason he can't play one-day cricket and T20 cricket for Australia, so for (the Heat) it's a question of how much we see him – it depends if (the national selectors) start looking at playing him in the one-dayers, because his one-day record for Queensland this year is exceptional. 

"If he gets the nod there, we probably won't see him at all."

Pending availability, Labuschagne looks set to find himself in a middle-order squeeze alongside the likes of Matthew Renshaw, Joe Burns, Sam Heazlett and allrounder Ben Cutting, who appears likely to shuffle back down the order to accommodate the arrival of boom English opener Tom Banton for the first half of BBL|09. When Banton is replaced by AB de Villiers, Cutting could well return to an opening slot alongside Max Bryant, meaning Chris Lynn, de Villiers and wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson will also need to be allocated positions between three and seven. 

For Lehmann, it is a pleasant selection headache, and the BBL|02 winning coach views Labuschagne as a perfect option through the middle overs to complement his team's explosive top order. 

"We're happy to go hard at the top as everyone knows – that's no problems," the coach said. "But you need those players who can control an innings, and Marnus does that really well. 

"The great thing about him is he's got all the shots. A bit like (Steve) Smith really. And he'll definitely bowl – if he's playing for the Heat, he's bowling."

Labuschagne's coach at Glamorgan, Matthew Maynard, was another to identify the Queenslander's all-round talents and the likelihood that those traits will, in time, see him develop into a standout player in both red-ball and white-ball cricket. 

"He's a three-dimensional cricketer; not only is he a quality batsman, he's a top fielder and his leg spin is very useful as well," Maynard told cricket.com.au earlier this month. 

"I see him being a full three-dimensional player in all three formats.

"A lot of that is down to pure belief and organising his game play. The more he plays the shorter form, the better he'll get."

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: November 21-25, Gabba (Seven, Fox & Kayo)

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