New Delhi, Oct 21 (IANS) Australia cricketer Steve Smith has backed Marnus Labuschagne to do well in the upcoming Ashes series. The former skipper revealed his conversation with the Queenslander and mentioned how difficult it is for a player to prove his worth after being dropped from the side.

Labuschagne was dropped from Australia’s Test side for the first time in six years, with Cameron Green replacing him in Australia’s XI at No. 3, and was seen carrying drinks during the recent match against the West Indies in the Caribbean.

Smith revealed the conversation he had with Labuschagne and lauded the latter’s resilience and positive attitude to do well.

“He said to me at the start of the summer, ‘I’ll be in that Test team come the first (Ashes) Test.’ He’s backed up his words, probably. I sent him a message a couple of days ago saying how proud I was of him. 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,” Smith told reporters on Tuesday, as quoted by Fox Sports.

Even after being dropped, Labuschagne proved his worth by putting up impressive and consistent performances in domestic cricket, thereby stamping his authority in the format and making a strong case for selection ahead of the all-important Ashes Tests.

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

Speaking further about the No. 3 batter’s recent performances and his ability to bat at different positions based on the team’s needs, Smith said:

“I think he’s been doing that really beautifully and he’s played so nicely. He can open, as we saw in the Test Championship Final, he can bat three, he’s versatile. (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.”

— IANS

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