‘He’s backed it up’: Stunning vow Marnus made Smith as telling texts revealed

Last month, before the start of the Australian summer, Marnus Labuschagne made a vow to his close mate Steve Smith.

Having been dropped from the Test side for the first time in six years, the Queenslander carried drinks during the recent Frank Worrell Trophy campaign against the West Indies in the Caribbean, with Cameron Green taking his spot at No. 3.

After returning home to Australia, Labuschagne sent a message to Smith, who was enjoying a holiday in New York, making a prediction about the summer.

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“He said to me at the start of the summer, ‘I’ll be in that Test team come the first (Ashes) Test,’” Smith revealed to reporters on Tuesday morning.

“He’s backed up his words, probably.”

Since then, Labuschagne has been in scintillating form with the willow, cracking four hundreds in five matches for the Bulls across formats. He’s earned a recall for Australia’s ODI squad and looks destined to feature in the starting XI for next month’s Ashes opener in Perth.

“I sent him a message a couple of days ago saying how proud I was of him,” Smith continued.

“He’s obviously got dropped from the team. He’s gone back and he’s got four hundreds in five hits. It’s a pretty big statement.

“He’s obviously not selected yet, but he’s done a lot of things right.”

Labuschagne was the world’s No. 1-ranked Test batter at the start of the 2023 Ashes, but his performances in red-ball cricket dwindled dramatically over the following 24 months, averaging 25.84 across his 15 most recent Tests with no hundreds.

With the right-hander in a rut and his Test career on life support, Smith offered him some words of advice during the winter, which has seemingly paid dividends.

“It’s always tough when you get dropped. We’ve all been there at some point in our careers,” Smith said.

“I think he knew he probably wasn’t batting as well as he had been four years ago, when he was scoring a mountain of runs.

“My advice to him was to stop thinking so technically. Just go and play the game, watch the ball and react,” he revealed.

“I think he’s been doing that really beautifully and he’s played so nicely.”

Although Labuschagne’s Ashes selection appears to be a near-certainty, there remains conjecture over where he should bat in the order – his preferred position is at No. 3, where he has scored each of his 11 Test hundreds, but the Australians could squeeze two all-rounders into the starting XI if he opens the batting.

Labuschagne batted at the top of the order during June’s World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s, his most recent Test appearance, posting scores of 17 and 22 against the Proteas. However, Smith is adamant the 31-year-old is capable of batting anywhere in the top three.

“He can open, as we saw in the Test Championship Final, he can bat three, he’s versatile,” Smith said of Labuschagne.

“(Opening) is not too different to batting three, to be honest. It’s essentially the same thing.

“I don’t think he needs to change anything if that’s the case. Just play the game, play how he has been.”

Smith has not played a professional match since The Hundred competition in the United Kingdom, which concluded in August. Since returning home from New York last week, he has completed three net sessions and will face bowlers for the first time on Tuesday.

However, the 36-year-old warned he was at peak fitness ahead of a blockbuster home summer.

“I’ve been training quite hard,” Smith explained.

“I’ve been doing a lot of lifting, trying to get a bit stronger. I did all my strength tests yesterday and they’re as good as they’ve ever been.

“I feel like I’m ready for a big summer.”

Smith expects to play two Sheffield Shield matches before the first Test against England – next week’s clash against Queensland in Brisbane and November’s contest against Victoria at the SCG.

The New South Welshman delayed the start of his summer due to fears of mental fatigue, acknowledging that he doesn’t want to drain himself ahead of a five-Test campaign. Cricket Australia supported the move, hopeful it could extend his Test career.

“I feel like I certainly get drained mentally quicker than I probably used to,” Smith said.

“I know that when I play a lot at the start, by the end of the summer, I’m pretty cooked mentally and probably can’t produce the same performances.

“There’s obviously a balance, but I don’t think it takes me much now to get up to game speed. I want to try and stay as mentally fresh as possible.”

With Test skipper Pat Cummins under an injury cloud, there’s a strong chance deputy Smith will lead Australia for the Perth match, having previously captained his country on 112 occasions across formats.

The right-hander averages 68.98 in Tests as captain, while that figure slips to 49.90 when he’s not leading the side – something he’s aware of.

“It’s interesting how the brain works, I think my record when I’m captain is probably better than it is when I’m not,” Smith said.

“I feel like I kind of go to another level and try to set a standard.”

He continued: “I’ve stood in (for Cummins) a couple of times over the last few years, it’s nothing out of the ordinary.

“I know how the team operates … it’ll just be a seamless sort of transition if that comes around.”

And although he’s spent the last month on the other side of the planet, Smith couldn’t avoid the Ashes build-up and the simmering “war of words” between Australia and England.

“I’ve seen it all,” he laughed.

“I don’t like to buy into too much. I just like to go about my business.

“We don’t like to get into too much of a war of words, I suppose. Just let our skills take over, play the game.

“I think we’ve done that really well over the last few years. Business as usual, I suppose.”

The first Ashes Test between Australia and England gets underway at Perth Stadium on November 21.