Labuschagne predicts spin to prove crucial in Townsville
Labuschagne has good memories of Townsville pitch.
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Marnus Labuschagne raises his bat during the Matador BBQs One Day Cup match between Victoria and Queensland at Drummoyne Oval on October 18, 2016 in Sydney, Australia.
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The Australian with the most experience playing in Townsville has predicted spin to play a big part in the contest with Zimbabwe on Sunday.
"It did a little bit early but it was actually really good for the spinners," he reflected about his last match at the venue.
"Matt Kuhnemann took 10-for so I think that's the way to go."
The stats certainly back up the Queenslander's view. From four List A matches there, spin has conceded only 5.25 runs per over to pace's 5.81 at a similar average.
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 22: Adam Zampa of Australia is congratulated by teammate Aaron Finch after Zampa got the wicket of Dasun Shanaka of Sri Lanka during the International Twenty20 match between Australia and Sri Lanka at Adelaide Oval on February 22, 2017 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Morne de Klerk/Getty Images)
Yet, Labuschagne was wary of the threat Zimbabwe posed.
"That's one thing you realise about the game now, the game's growing so fast," the 28-year-old said.
"Guys are improving rapidly. Teams like Zimbabwe, Netherlands and Ireland … they are highly skilled teams now and you should never underestimate them."
"I watched a few of their game reviews from (Zimbabwe's matches against) India and they were really good."
With some capable spinners of their own such as Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams and Tony Munyonga, the challenge may not be entirely one-way.
"I almost started a little too defensively so I'm just reviewing my theories there and wished I'd applied my Test method a little bit more in those conditions," he said.
"It was a bit disappointing from my end, that I didn't really do that until the Test series came. For me, it's a learning experience."
He's got a great opportunity to make amends on Sunday at a ground he loves. In two Shield matches and one List A game at the venue, he's scored 337 runs at 84.25.
"The ground's great. I don’t think I've lost here yet, I've got three wins from three games," he told reporters.
"We (Queensland) played here last year and the track was quite good. We ended up beating Tasmania in both the one-dayer and Shield game."
If his predictions about the pitch come true, we may even see him bowling.