New Delhi, Dec 1: Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said top-order batter Marnus Labuschagne has really got to find a way to turn around his form slump. Labuschagne made just two and three in the first Test, as Australia crashed to a 295-run loss to India in Perth.
Labuschagne, who once held top ranking in men’s Test batters rankings, averages 13.66 from his five Tests after hitting two half-centuries against Pakistan in early January this year. “I think you have to show faith in champion players. A lot of the guys that we’re talking about in this team have been champion players.
“Maybe albeit not for a little while. I think I read somewhere the other day that Marnus is averaging 13 since January (after Pakistan series) in Tests. So he’s really got to find a way to turn it around.
“He was the one that looked most tentative to me out of all the batsmen in Perth. Yes, it was high-quality bowling. Yes, it was a difficult wicket to bat on. But when you’re facing the best bowlers as a batsman, you have to take more risks,” said Ponting on The ICC Review show.
With the second Test, a pink-ball affair, set to begin at the Adelaide Oval on November 6, Ponting has urged Australia’s batters to have the mindset of scoring runs over need to survive at the crease, citing Virat Kohli’s example.
“I think that’s going to be the great challenge for Marnus and co. this week. It’s probably just letting go a little bit. Think about scoring runs first and not think about getting out first. There’s only one way to change it, and that is to be positive and show great intent.
“In the first innings, he (Kohli) got too worried about trying to combat what the opposition bowlers were doing and got away from his style of play. He found his style in the second innings, he got a hundred. Now it’s over to Marnus, Smith and co. to find their own way again and go about scoring some runs,” he said. (IANS)
