“Really good for the spinners”: Marnus Labuschagne predicts spinners to play big role in Australia vs Zimbabwe ODIs at Riverway Stadium

Marnus Labuschagne predicts spinners to play a big role: The Australian batter spoke about the conditions from his personal experience.

Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne is aware of the progress made by Zimbabwe in the recent months. As a result, the 28-year old player has spoken strictly against underestimating them ahead of the imminent three-match ODI series.

Unbeaten in ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Qualifiers, Zimbabwe managed to beat Bangladesh in both ODI and T20I series at home. A couple of poor outings against India were followed by them almost chasing a 290-run target in the third ODI.

A particular strength of this Zimbabwean team has been their ability to perform exceedingly well in run-chases. Although they haven’t played an ODI in Australia since ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, their recent form has it in it to challenge Australia in their own conditions.

“Guys are improving rapidly. Teams like Zimbabwe, Netherlands and Ireland … they are highly skilled teams now and you should never underestimate them,” Labuschagne told reporters in Townville. “I watched a few of their game reviews from [Zimbabwe’s matches against] India and they were really good.”

Marnus Labuschagne predicts spinners to play big role in Australia vs Zimbabwe ODIs at Riverway Stadium

Labuschagne is among the more experienced Australian cricketers to have played at the Riverway Stadium. While Australia will be playing their first-ever international match here on Sunday, Labuschagne has played Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup matches at this venue in the past.

Labuschagne, who averages 84.25 in five batting innings across formats in Townsville, has predicted that the spinners will play a big role in this series. Hence, it wouldn’t be surprising if both the teams pick two specialist spin-bowling options in their respective Playing XIs.

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“We [Queensland] played here last year and the track was quite good. We ended up beating Tasmania in both the one-dayer and Shield game. It did a little bit early but it was actually really good for the spinners…that was for Shield cricket so I think this wicket will be slightly flatter,” Labuschagne added.

Providing reference of Queensland spinner Matt Kuhnemann’s 10-wicket match haul, Labuschagne was quite sure of bowling leg-spin if captain Aaron Finch introduces him into the bowling attack against Zimbabwe. Labuschagne, who has bowled both spin and gentle medium-pace at the highest level, has picked only two wickets in 30.5 overs bowled across nine ODI innings.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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