Marnus Labuschagne 'secret' comes to light as teammates marvel over luck
The Aussie batter is statistically one of the luckiest cricketers in history, which teammates joke is due to a sticker on his bat.
Marnus Labuschagne has lifted the lid on the meaning behind a sticker of an eagle on the bottom of his bat, which teammates believe is the 'secret' behind his extraordinary luck. The Aussie batter has played with the sticker on his bat ever since making his international debut in 2018.
As Labuschagne reveals in the upcoming second season of 'The Test' documentary, the eagle represents a bible verse - Isiah 40:31. The verse states: “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles; They shall run and not be weary; They shall walk and not faint.”
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As viewers see in the new season of the Amazon documentary, Labuschagne's teammates are convinced that the sticker is the source of his good fortune. Labuschagne has been gifted an extraordinary amount of luck during his 33 Test matches so far, with opponents dropping a raft of catches off his bat.
Across a two-and-a-half year period from July 2019 to December 2022, the Aussie No.3 was dropped a staggering 16 times and caught 20 times (a 55 per cent conversion rate). According to Fox Sports statistician Lawrie Colliver, Labuschagne's Test average would only be around 44 if opponents had taken every chance they'd dropped. Instead his average is an impressive 59.43.
“Marnus is the luckiest cricketer in the world,” David Warner says on 'The Test'. “Every second innings he gets two or three lives. He must have that little crow at the bottom of his bat.”
The documentary recounts the comical series of events that saw Labuschagne make a century in Adelaide last summer during the day-night Test against England in the Ashes. England wicket-keeper Jos Buttler dropped two regulation catches off Labuschagne's bat before he was dismissed on a no-ball by Ollie Robinson and given a third lifeline.
“I’m honestly going to get that bird tattooed on my head,” Nathan Lyon says. “That’s remarkable. The eagle does something, doesn’t it?"
Labuschagne told Fox Sports: “The boys like to joke that it is the sticker. We’ll keep everybody happy and not take it off. I can’t help it if people have got butterfingers when I nick it.”
Marnus Labuschagne opens up on faith and cricket
Speaking to camera on 'The Test', Labuschagne reveals the role his faith has played in his cricket career. “Everyone knows cricket’s a major part of my life. The value of me as a person isn’t in cricket. It’s in my faith,” he says.
“I grew up in Christianity. Going back to when I was a young kid, laying in my bed, praying every night. I might not be the carbon copy Australian cricketer that people thought, but I’m me.
“One of the biggest things in sport is your mind, and once your mind goes down a path, you can’t stop it. It just goes down that path. I don’t think stickers matter until you start thinking it matters."
Labuschagne has enjoyed a meteoric rise in Test cricket over the last few years and is currently the ICC's No.1 ranked batter. He has scored 3150 runs in 33 matches, making 10 centuries and 14 half-centuries.
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