Why Hussey thinks that Labuschagne can turn his poor form around “very quickly”

Aussie cricket great Michael Hussey has pinpointed why he thinks Marnus Labuschagne is struggling for form.

After making just 2 and 3 respectively in the first Test loss to India, calls for Labuschagne to be dropped have emerged, while his technique and overall approach have also been questioned.

Taking a deeper dive into Labuschagne’s technique, Hussey isn’t as concerned about the shapes the Queenslander is making as some other experts are.

Instead, he thinks that it’s Labuschagne’s mindset that’s getting him into trouble.

“I actually went back and had a look at some of his highlights of some of his great innings from a few years back. It was just to see if I could see anything different than what we've been seeing in the last week or so,” Hussey told SEN Sportsday.

“From a technical perspective, there's actually not a lot of difference from when he was playing really well in scoring a lot of runs compared to the last Test match against India.

“The biggest difference I've noticed is just his intent to score. He's probably looking at it thinking, ‘I'm a senior player now, I've got to take responsibility, I've got to bat time, be there for the team, soak up the pressure and all of that’.

“That gets you into a tentative defensive frame of mind - of batting time, being there and being patient.

“Whereas when I watched some of those highlights from a few years back, he was just confident and decisive in everything he did, even in defence and when he was letting the ball go he was getting into really strong positions.”

Given that Hussey thinks most of his woes are down to his frame of mine, he believes that Labuschagne can quickly turn things around if he arrives at the crease with a positive intent to score.

“I feel as though it's something that can be fixed really quickly just with a mindset shift,” Hussey said.

“If he can just change that mindset of just looking to occupy the crease … into, ‘Whatever I do, I’m going to do it confidently, decisively and be a little bit more positive with an intent to score’.

“I feel like he can turn it around really quickly.”

Labuschagne will hope to get some form under his belt when Australia face India in the second Test at the Adelaide Oval from December 6.

Listen to every ball LIVE on SEN and the SEN app.