Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne have been the axis of Australia’s batting since the Ashes Test at Lord’s in 2019. You say their names in that order even though Labuschagne usually came in first, because there was no doubting who was the senior half of the pair. But a pair they were, if we can go a bit hero-myth for the origin: first innings there was Smith felled by a bouncer, second there was Labuschagne springing back up in his place, a carbon copy combatant born from a metaphorical drop of blood.
In excelling as Smith’s substitute, Labuschagne laid claim to the spot in the order above him, the protege tasked with paving the way for the maestro. Immediately the sense of replication moved beyond timing to manner. With one player learning from the other, they formed a symphony of quirks on the field, and as Smith’s output of runs returned to a mortal level, Labuschagne’s climbed the other way. Three tons in three innings sparked a patch of four years in which at least one of the two was always making runs, if not both in concert. But in the last two years, while Smith has peaked again, Labuschagne has declined.
