Marnus Labuschagne has taken a dig at critics after a relatively lean start to the Shield season has people questioning whether he was in a form slump.
The Queenslander starred on day one of the first Test against the West Indies, finishing play unbeaten on 154 alongside Steve Smith (59*).
In reaching three figures, Labuschagne eclipsed Smith for the most scores over 50 over the first 29 Test matches in their careers.
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Magic Marnus’ elite Day 1! | 03:14
Labuschagne has made 21 scores of 50 plus since his debut, and at the same point in his career, Smith had 20.
That also puts him ahead of the likes of David Warner (18), Matthew Hayden (17), Damien Martyn (16), Mark Waugh (15), Justin Langer (14), Ricky Ponting (13) and Steve Waugh (12).
Speaking after play, Labuschagne referenced he lean start to the domestic summer.
“I’d certainly want people to come and have a look at some of the wickets,” he said.
“We had a couple of two-dayers in there.
“But once again, whenever you’re not scoring runs there’s that little bit of doubt, so it comes back to your process as a player, you’ve just got to keep being patient and just build your game around your process, not always the result.”
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The 28-year-old has an incredible record at Perth Stadium, with scores of 143, 50 and 154*, a success he attributes to learning the ropes at the gabba.
“Growing up and playing a lot on the Gabba really helps with that because you know there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
“You know you’ve got to put in the hard work early Obviously playing in Brisbane with the bouncy conditions helps. The tempo isn’t as fast as other venues.
You aren’t hitting as many balls.
“I love this venue, I love playing in Perth because the conditions are so similar to Brisbane and I’ve had some good success in Brisbane.
“It’s really nice to come to a ground where the characteristics of the wicket are very similar”.
Australia XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitch Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
West Indies XI: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Nkrumah Bonner, Jermaine Blackwood, Kyle Mayers, Jason Holder, Joshua Da Silva, Roston Chase, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales
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