Ponting urges Australian batter to ‘find their own way’ out of rut
ICC Hall of Famer Ricky Ponting has expressed the need to show faith in Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne, but has urged the star batter to change his approach to turn around his form.
Labuschagne managed scores of 2 and 3 in the first Test against in Perth, as Australia crashed to a 295-run loss. It was the latest in a long line of lower scores for Labuschagne.
Having accumulated the third-most runs in the WTC 2021-23 cycle, the right-hand batter has managed just 658 runs in 13 Tests in the current cycle. He averages 13.66 across five Tests after his two half-centuries against Pakistan in early January this year.
The Australia squad give an insight into playing with Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith ahead of the ICC World Test Championship Final 2023
Ponting reiterated the need to back “champion” players, but said Labuschagne needed to find his way out of the rut.
“I think you have to show faith in champion players,” Ponting said in the latest ICC Review. “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.”
A former No. 1 ranked batter in Tests, Labuschagne has been pivotal to Australia’s recent success after his debut in the Ashes in 2019, averaging 48.45 in 51 Tests.
However, Ponting had concerns with his approach in the Perth Test.
"He was the one that looked most tentative to me out of all the batsmen in Perth,” said Ponting.
“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."
A look back at Marnus Labuschagne's special supporting act during the 2023 CWC Final
Marnus Labuschagne's fifty stabilised the Australia innings.
Ponting urged the Australian batters, Labuschagne included, to focus on run-scoring rather than survival in the upcoming Tests.
“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,” he advised.
"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.”
Ponting cited Virat Kohli's game-changing knock in the second innings in Perth as an example of batting with intent. Kohli broke a prolonged century-drought – he scored his first Test century since July 2023, and his third in five years – with an unbeaten 100 in the second innings.
"In the first innings, he got too worried about trying to combat what the opposition bowlers were doing and got away from his style of play,” said Ponting.
“He found his style in the second innings, he got a hundred."
With four Tests remaining in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and a potential spot in the WTC final ahead, Ponting had a clear message for Australian batters: "Now it’s over to Marnus, Smith and co. to find their own way again and go about scoring some runs."
Ricky Ponting weighs in on the recent struggles of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma | ICC Review