Labuschagne Declares Fitness Ahead of Boxing Day Test Despite Injury Scare

Star batter Marnus Labuschagne declared himself fit for the Boxing Day Test after sustaining an injury on his finger during Australia’s 360-run triumph over Pakistan in the 1st Test. On Day 3 of the 1st Test, Pakistan debutant Khurram Shahzad hit the right-handed batter on the finger of his right hand with a rearing delivery that jumped off a length. Labuschagne sought medical assistance right away but returned to bat after a few minutes.
“The finger is fine, there’s no break. It hit me more on the knuckle side and sort of just jammed up my hand. It just got me in a bit of an awkward spot. There was no padding on that side of the glove, so it just didn’t feel that good. I was a bit nervous. I’ve had a lot of finger blows, but it just felt a bit different. It was a little bit sore overnight,” Labuschagne said as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
Labuschagne wasn’t the only player who was struck while batting, Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith were two other players who ended up receiving blows to their arms. Man of the Match award winner, Mitchell Marsh was struck twice on his helmet on Day 4.
“Uz (Khawaja) seems fine and Steve is all good. It was brutal there at the end with the cracks opening up. We’re all used to the bounce, played a lot here and some of us have good records in Perth. But no one likes batting when it’s up and down [and] sharp steep bounce on a fast wicket. That’s not your cup of tea, but you just have to find a way when it’s like that,” Labuschagne said.
The second Test will be played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on December 16. Labuschagne who has played 39 Test matches in a row believes that the surface will present an opportunity to the batters.
“The MCG wicket has changed so much over the last four years,” he said. “It’s become probably very much like Adelaide with a bit of seam and swing…quite a bit of grass. Probably will be a little bit of a different challenge to this wicket, which was more bounce,” Labuschagne added.