Bring out the biltong for Labuschagne, an Ashes hero

Funny, the things cricketers put on their bats. England’s Jos Buttler has ‘Fuck it’ written at the top of his blade to remind him it’s only a game (or something like that). Australian Marnus Labuschagne, who for my money was one of the great heroes of the Ashes Test at Lord’s, has the image of an eagle drawn on the bottom of his bat. It’s to remind young Marnus of one of his favourite Bible passages, Isaiah 40:31: ‘For those who hope in the Lord, He shall renew their strength. They shall soar on wings like eagles; they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not be faint.’ It has the edge over ‘Fuck it’, but each to his own.

Labuschagne is a deeply religious man, and considering what he had to do at Lord’s the presence of God on your side was an added bonus — or an absolute essential. He had pitched up at the home of cricket presumably in anticipation of a bit of light glove delivery to the Aussie batsmen out in the middle, maybe some fielding, and dishing out the cucumber sandwiches.  In fact, he had to put on his helmet on Sunday and trudge out to face one of the fastest bowlers in the world, certainly the most terrifying, as a concussion substitute after Steve Smith was felled by a fearsome rising bouncer from England’s Jofra Archer.

Oh… he was also trying to save the Test for Australia and see out the final day. What then happened was extraordinary. Labuschagne’s second ball from Archer, another thunderbolt at 90mph plus, struck him on the helmet grill and he went down as if felled by a bullet. But incredibly he bounced up immediately, checked his helmet and prepared to face the next ball.