Marnus Labuschagne's latest Test century has seen the Queenslander draw closer to the impregnable numbers laid down by Sir Donald Bradman across the course of his 20-year Test career.
While Labuschagne's lastest score of 103 carved out against England in the City of Churches still has him sitting well in arrears of 'The Don', the idiosyncratic Queenslander's sixth Test century saw him leap his recently re-appointed captain in the pursuit of perfection.
Having notched 74-runs during the Ashes opener in Brisbane last week, Labuschagne entered the day-night Test in Adelaide as the country's No.1 ranked long-form batter.
And after patiently, and fortuitously, passing the triple-figure mark against a wearied English attack on Day 2, Labuschange raised his Test average to 62.48.
This already sterling marker can then be raised to 73 when putting each of his innings as Australia's No.3 batter under the microscope and then again to 102 when isolating each of his first-innings knocks since returning to the Test arena in 2019.
Although Labuschagne's figures are still dwarfed by Bradman's famous high watermark of 99.94, the boyish batter's latest raise of his Kookaburra blade saw him jump past Steve Smith (61.62) and Adam Voges (61.87) to fill the second stand on the podium beside the legend.
Given his obvious joy when at the crease as well as his noticeable adoration for the game at its greats, one could be forgiven for believing the in-form first-drop option would have been well aware of his latest accolade.
Still, when speaking at the close of play, Labuschagne remained oblivious to the rare air he now found himself in.
"That's the first I've heard of being second behind Bradman ... It's a special feeling," Labuschagne was quoted by cricket.com.au.
And even if the parlayed information was enough to see a standard grin adorn Labuschange's face, the man with many ticks remained steadfast that good fortune had played a role in his ascension.
"Bradman's done and a couple of nick offs and I'm right to the back of the pecking order," he added.
"You can't really think like that (about records) ... The personal performances and accolades are nice.
"But I just think about trying to score as many runs as possible each innings to put us in positions to win games."
Having been at the non-striker's end when Labuschange had scorers in the Adelaide Oval's hand-operated scoreboard signaling his latest achievement, Smith explained his lack of surprise in his clone's success.
“He’s batting exceptionally well and his processes are just outstanding at the moment,” Smith explained.
“He’s got it down to a tee how he wants to play at the moment.
“He’s composed, calm and doing a terrific job and has been for a couple of years now. Really pleased he was able to get a hundred.
“He wants to go out and score runs pretty much every day. He bats probably just as much as me, if not more in the nets. He absolutely loves it. He’s someone that wants to improve and get better, and he thinks a lot about the game.
“I’m not surprised to see the results he’s been getting. He’s just batting really well. He’s got great processes in place and he’s sticking to them under pressure. He’s playing exceptionally well and long may that continue.”
Day 3 action is set to commence at the Adelaide Oval at 2:30 ACDT with England to resume their overnight total of 2/17 after play was halted due to lightning strikes.
