Who is Marnus Labuschagne?

Marnus Labuschagne has become a part of the recent cricket discussions not just because of his inclusion to the cricket history book as first-ever concussion substitute but because he is also showing glimpses of his cricketing ability and skill and quickly becoming a permanent member of the Australian national squad.
Marnus Labuschagne introduction on the day five of the Lord’s Test during the 2019 Ashes was much talked about as he became the first ‘ Concussion substitute ’ as per the new ICC ruling when Steve Smith did not pass the concussion Tests after a nasty blow on his neck off Jofra Archer bouncer on day four. Marnus Labuschagne held his own and despite a second ball bouncer which hit on his helmet grill by the same bowler, he carried on to bat and top-scored for Australia with 59 in a hard-fought draw.
Born in South Africa in 1994, Marnus Labuschagne migrated to Australia with his parents in 2004 and started living in Brisbane. He was part of the various age-group teams for Queensland from a very early age and finally made his first-class debut for the state in 2014-15. He got his first taste of international cricket when in the same season he was brought into the Australian squad as a local substitute during the Brisbane Test against India. He was on the ground for a significant amount of time as a substitute fielder and also grabbed a catch off Nathan Lyon to dismiss Varun Aaron.
A right-hand top-order batsman and occasional leg spinner, Marnus Labuschagne kept growing in his career and started playing club cricket in England to gain more experience. 2016-2018 was a fruitful period for Labuschagne as he kept delivering for Queensland in both first-class and List-A cricket and also played in Big Bash League for Brisbane Heats.

In March 2018, Labuschagne was included in the Sheffield Shield team of the season for 2017-18. A national call up was due and in September 2018 he was included in the Australian Test squad to tour Middle-East for a series against Pakistan. On 7^th Oct 2018, Marnus Labuschagne became the Australia Test cap number 455 as he made his debut at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. He started with a duck and 13 in a drawn game but picked up a wicket each in Pakistan’s two innings.
He got longer spells in the second Test in Abu Dhabi and delivered with five wickets in the match with his controlled leg-spin. But Australia lost the match by 373 runs, one of their biggest defeats. Labuschagne was dropped from the squad. He returned to the eleven later during the Australian summer in the fourth Test against India and also played both the Tests in the series against Sri Lanka which Australia won 2-0. In his first Test on his home ground at the Gabba, he delivered a bright 81 which remains his highest score in the Test arena.
With the return of the banned trio of Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft, Labuschagne could not maintain his spot in the first eleven but was part of the touring Australian squad for the Ashes 2019. His Ashes debut came in a dramatic scenario and he played a significant role in the final day. Now he is all set to play the third Test as Steve Smith is still recovering from that blow and Labuschagne would love to make an impressive contribution in front of the English fast bowling challenge from Archer, Broad, and company.
Interestingly Labuschagne is yet to make his international debut in any of the limited formats for Australia and only preferred in Tests for his solid batting technique. But he has given enough demonstration of his ability and guts to indicate that he can become a regular in the Australian batting line up and form a long and successful career.