The world has witnessed plenty of Marnus Labuschagne centuries, although mostly in Test cricket. The first Labuschagne century was November 2019 against Pakistan at the Gabba in Brisbane.
Labuschagne scored 185 runs off 279 balls with the help of 20 fours. On the back of his knock, the Aussies took a massive lead of 340 runs at the end of the first innings. Labuschagne was first involved in a partnership of 129 runs with David Warner, who scored 154 runs off 296 balls with 10 fours.
After Warner and Steve Smith got out in quick succession, Labuschagne put on a handy partnership of 110 runs with Matthew Wade. Labuschagne eventually got out to Shaheen Shah Afridi after being caught by Babar Azam at gully. Labuschagne went on to win the Player of the Match award after Australia won the Test by an innings and five runs.
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The second Labuschagne came in the very next Test match at the Adelaide Oval. Labuschagne scored 162 runs off 238 balls with 22 fours and played at a handy strike rate of 68.06, keeping the pressure on the Pakistani bowling attack.
After opting to bat first, the Aussies lost their first wicket in the form of Joe Burns, who got out to Afridi. From there on, Warner and Labuschagne made sure that Pakistan were not allowed to pick up more early wickets. The duo put on a partnership of 361 runs for the second wicket to put their team in a position of command.
Labuschagne made sure that Australia racked up a massive score of 589 for the loss of three wickets in their first innings. The hosts went on to win the match by an innings and 48 runs. It was Warner who won the Player of the Match award for scoring 335 runs off 418 balls with 39 fours and a six.
The third Labuschagne century came in the very next match against New Zealand at the Perth Stadium. After opting to bat first, Australia put up a healthy score of 416 in 146.2 overs. Labuschagne batted at No.3 and scored 143 runs off 240 balls with 18 fours and a six.
Labuschagne was also impressive in the second innings as he scored 50 runs off 81 balls with three fours. On the back of his knock, Australia set a huge target of 468 for the Black Caps to chase down. Australia bowled the Kiwis out for 171 in 65.3 overs to win the match by 256 runs. Mitchell Starc became the Player of the Match for picking up 11 wickets, including a fifer in the first innings.
The fourth Labuschagne century was a special one for the right-hander. It was the first time he converted a hundred into a double century. He showed his class in the third Test of the series at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground. He scored 215 runs off 363 balls with the help of 19 fours and one six.
After opting to bat first, Australia put up a healthy score of 454 in 150.1 overs. Thereafter, the hosts bowled the Kiwis out for 256 to gain a big lead of 198 runs in the first innings. Labuschagne batted beautifully in the second innings as well, scoring 59 runs off 74 balls with three fours. He was also involved in a partnership of 110 runs with David Warner for the second wicket.
On the back of Labuschagne’s knock, Australia declared their second innings at 217 for the loss of two wickets and set New Zealand a target of 416 to chase down. The visitors crumbled for 136 in 47.5 overs as the Aussies won the match by 279 runs. Labuschagne went on to bag the award for the Player of the Match.
The second time Labuschagne converted into a double ton was against West Indies back in December 2022 at the Perth Stadium. After opting to bat first, Australia racked up a huge score of 598 for the loss of four wickets in 152.4 overs. The Aussies found themselves in early trouble after Jayden Seales got the crucial wicket of Warner.
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But from there on, Labuschagne took charge. He and Usman Khawaja put on 142 runs for the second wicket. After Khawaja got out to Kyle Mayers, Labuschagne and Smith put pressure on the West Indies bowling attack.
Labuschagne went on to score 204 runs off 350 balls with 20 fours and a six before Kraigg Brathwaite accounted for his wicket. Labuschagne and Smith put on 251 runs for the fourth wicket to put the home team in a commanding position. Australia bowled the Caribbean team out for 283 to gain a huge lead of 315 runs in the first innings.
Labuschagne carried his excellent form into the second innings as well. He scored 104 runs off 110 balls with 13 fours and two sixes. He stayed unbeaten as Australia declared their second innings at 182 for the loss of two wickets. Thereafter, the hosts bowled West Indies out for 333 to win the match by 164 runs. Labuschagne went on to win the award for the Player of the Match.
The last Labuschagne century at the time of writing came back in December 2022 against the West Indies at the Adelaide Oval. He scored 163 runs off 305 balls with 14 fours. After opting to bat first, Australia scored 511 for the loss of seven wickets in 137 overs.
After the hosts lost their first three wickets with their score at 131 in 42.4 overs, West Indies were still in the game. But Labuschagne and Travis Head made sure that not only did Australia got themselves out of the hole, but also dictated terms to the opposition.
Labuschagne and Head put on a partnership of 297 runs for the fourth wicket to put the hosts in a dominating position. Australia bowled West Indies out for 214 in the first innings to gain a big lead of 297 runs. After playing the substantial knock in the first innings, Labuschagne also impressed during his brief stay in the middle.
Labuschagne hit three fours to score 31 runs off 23 balls before fast bowler Anderson Phillip accounted for his wicket. After the Aussies set a target of 497, they bowled the West Indies out for 77 runs in 40.5 overs to win the match by 419 runs.
Contents
Marnus Labuschagne centuries in Tests
| Date | Opposition | Venue | Score |
| 21 November 2019 | Pakistan | Brisbane | 185 |
| 29 November 2019 | Pakistan | Adelaide | 162 |
| 12 December 2019 | New Zealand | Perth | 143 |
| 03 January 2020 | New Zealand | Sydney | 215 |
| 15 January 2021 | India | Brisbane | 108 |
| 16 December 2021 | England | Adelaide | 103 |
| 08 July 2022 | Sri Lanka | Galle | 104 |
| 30 November 2022 | West Indies | Perth | 204 |
| 30 November 2022 | West Indies | Perth | 104 not out |
| 08 December 2022 | West Indies | Adelaide | 163 |
Marnus Labuschagne centuries – near misses
There have been a few missed chances more Labuschagne in international cricket. Back in January 2021, he had a great opportunity of notching up a Test hundred, but he fell short. After Australia opted to bat first, Labuschagne batted at No.3 and helped his team recover following the loss of Warner’s wicket.
Labuschagne scored 91 runs off 196 balls with 11 fours and played at a strike-rate of 46.42. He first put on 100 runs along with Will Pucovski, who scored 61 useful runs. After Pucovski got out to Navdeep Saini, Labuschagne was joined by Smith. The duo put on 100 runs for the third wicket.
Labuschagne’s knock came to an end when he got out to Ravindra Jadeja after he edged the ball and Ajinkya Rahane took a sharp catch in the slip cordon. The match at the SCG was drawn and it was Smith who won the Player of the Match award for his knock of 131 off 226 balls.
The other missed chance came back in March 2022 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. On a beautiful batting pitch, Labuschagne scored 90 runs off 158 balls with 12 fours before Afridi got his prized wicket. He was also involved in a partnership of 108 runs with Smith.
He is into his fifth year in international cricket and the world could expect many more Marnus Labuschagne centuries going forward.
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Marnus Labuschagne centuries in ODIs
There have not been many Marnus Labuschagne centuries in ODIs. Back in March 2020, Labuschagne scored his first and only ODI hundred against South Africa. At Senwes Park in Potchefstroom, Labuschagne showed that he is more than capable of performing for the Aussies in the 50-over format.
Batting at No.4, Labuschagne scored 108 runs off 108 balls with the help of eight fours. On the back of his knock, the Aussies posted a respectable score of 254 for the loss of seven wickets after being put in to bat first. He also shared a handy partnership of 81 runs with D’Arcy Short, who scored 36 runs off 44 balls with three fours.
Plenty of the Australia batters got into double digits, but apart from Labuschagne, no one was able to go on and get a big score. Mitchell Marsh scored 32 runs off 41 balls with two fours and a six before getting run out.
Later, South Africa went on to chase down the target with 27 balls to spare. JJ Smuts, Kyle Verreynne and Heinrich Klaasen scored fifties to help South Africa past the finish line. Labuschagne scored a hundred, but it was Smuts who won the Player of the Match award for scoring 84 runs off 98 balls with 12 fours.
The world can expect to see more of Marnus Labuschagne centuries going forward. In 30 ODIs thus far, Labuschagne has scored 847 runs at an average of 31.37 and a strike-rate of 83.20 with one hundred and six fifties to show for his efforts.
| Date | Opposition | Venue | Score |
| 07 March 2020 | South Africa | Potchefstroom | 108 |
Back in November 2018, Labuschagne made his Test debut for Australia. But he did not get off to the best of starts as he got out for a duck in the first innings at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. In the second innings as well, Labuschagne flattered to deceive as he scored 13 runs. Back then, Labuschagne batted at No.7.
2019 turned out to be the turning point in Labuschagne’s career. In the Lord’s Test, Smith was hit on the head by a deadly bouncer from Jofra Archer. Thereafter, Smith was ruled out of the match due to concussion. Thereafter, Labuschagne was roped in as a concussion substitute.
Labuschagne also copped a blow on the helmet from Archer, but instead of going into his shell, he showed nerves of steel. In the first innings of the Lord’s Test, Labuschagne scored 59 runs off 100 balls with eight fours. He followed it up with a knock of 74 runs off 129 balls with 10 fours in the second innings of the Test at the Home of Cricket in London.
From there on, Labuschagne has not looked back and has only grown in stature as his career has progressed. Labuschagne is currently taking part in the ongoing Ashes against England. Although he is not in the best of form, one may expect him to make a strong comeback given the class and calibre he has.
Apart from his exploits at international level for the Aussies, Labuschagne also plays a crucial role for the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League (BBL). Labuschagne can also bowl handy leg-breaks and can be lethal with the ball in hand on his day.
But like a number of his teammates, Labuschagne is yet to play in T20 leagues, including the Indian Premier League (IPL), around the world. He also played a solitary T20I against Pakistan last year where he scored two runs before getting out to leg-spinner Usman Qadir
