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Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne feels Test cricket is in a "great place" and hopes countries keep producing "great players" and contribute to upholding the format's "amazing" tradition.
Labuschagne is preparing for Australia's title defence in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa, which is scheduled to kick off at Lord's on Wednesday. The 30-year-old Australian outlined the factors that make WTC an "exciting" affair, a tournament that has worked "great". "It is an exciting tournament. It means every Test you play has something on it, it brings all the countries into play, and anyone can make the final. You're playing for a trophy at the end of a two-year cycle. I think it has worked great. Two years ago, when we beat India, it was awesome. I'm looking at it from a player's perspective, and it looks like the game is in a great place," he said as quoted from ICC. Labuschagne was a part of Australia's maiden WTC mace triumph against India in 2023 at The Oval. The Baggy Greens exuded dominance and raced away with a 209-run triumph. "Every time Test cricket is on, people want to watch it. India, Australia and England are probably carrying a bit of the load of Test cricket, but we really want to see all the countries keep producing great players and being part of upholding such an amazing tradition of Test cricket," he added. Labuschagne sealed his place in the Australian setup during the 2019 Ashes at Lord's. In his debut, he famously became cricket's first-ever concussion substitute. After his debut, a journey of his prolific phase for the South African-born batter. He averaged an impressive 63.43 after 14 Tests and moved to the summit in the ICC Test rankings for six months, which began in December 2021. "I love playing with the guys here; they are close friends, and I love the environment at the club. The benefit of having a relationship with the club for six years is that you have the perks of being able to call the director of cricket and say: This is what it looks like, is there a chance we can line this up?" he said. "Without that relationship, there might be some hesitancy, or you might not get someone in for two games. But that's the benefit of the long-term commitment I have shown over the last six years," he added. (ANI)
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