Australia national cricket team Test captain Pat Cummins has opened up about star batsman Marnus Labuschagne’s struggles in Test cricket.

Pat Cummins said there is an urgent need for former world number one batsman Marnus Labuschagne to be more proactive when he comes out to bat in the second Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

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Marnus Labuschagne failed in the Perth test against India

Labuschagne has been going through a rough patch in Test cricket for a long period of time. The 30-year-old, who was one of the most consistent Test batsmen in the world, has struggled to get going and that has directly impacted the Australian team’s performance.

In the first match of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series, Marnus Labuschagne looked miserable in the first innings before being dismissed for 52 balls 2. Also, in the second innings, he shouldered a delivery from Jasprit Bumrah and was fired. LBW for 3 races.

In his last 10 Test innings, Labuschagne registered just 123 runs, 90 of those runs in an innings against New Zealand in Christchurch. His last Test century came over a year ago in the Manchester Test against the England national cricket team in July 2023.

Marnus Labuschagne would aim to make a strong comeback in the Adelaide Test against India as he had a good record at the venue, scoring runs at an average of 71.75.

He’s training well as always, hitting millions of balls – Pat Cummins

The former world number one batsman has been working hard in the nets and focusing on his strokeplay. Pat Cummins praised him for that and urged him to be more proactive in the pink ball test. He stated:

“He’s training well like he always does, hitting millions of balls. It’s pretty impossible to dismiss or ignore some of the comments about maybe being a little more proactive, so I think you’ve seen that side of it in the nets.

“The challenge is always going out there and making sure you have that mentality. But he’s been great as always. Always working on things, trying to plan how he’s going to get his hundred in this Test.”

Pat Cummins provides an update on Mitchell Marsh

Pat Cummins also provided an important update on Mitchell Marsh, who faced some back problems and was sore after the first test in Perth.

The Australian captain said Marsh was given a few days off from his bowling duties and will definitely take part in the Adelaide Test when required. He said:

“[We] I made the call with the medical staff over the last few days to give him a couple days off to bowl, but wait for him to warm up and, if necessary, [he] will play bowling.

“I suppose it would be necessary at some point… to prioritize his overs for games rather than using some of them in the nets.”

Pat Cummins was also hopeful that his team would be better prepared to face the Indian team after facing them in the first match of the series. He elaborated:

“I hope some lessons have been learned. The good thing is that now we’ve had a look at their batting and bowling, and they’ve had a look at us too, but you can see some of the bowling plans you have. “I want to implement. “Same with hitters, they know how they are going to be attacked first.”