Marnus Labuschagne: Australia star misses playing for Glamorgan
- Published
Marnus Labuschagne scored five centuries for Glamorgan in 2019
Glamorgan's Australia batsman Marnus Labuschagne says he is "very disappointed" at not being able to follow up his phenomenal debut county season.
Labuschagne, 25, excelled for Glamorgan before starring in the 2019 Ashes.
He earned a central Cricket Australia contract on the back of his rise in the Test and one-day international formats.
Labuschagne is also signed to Glamorgan for 2021 - Australia commitments permitting.
He had already played five Tests when he was signed by Glamorgan as a stand-in for Shaun Marsh, but made a huge impression scoring 1,114 Championship runs at an average of 65 and taking 19 wickets with his leg-spin.
He is in Australia waiting for news of when and where professional cricket can restart after the suspension of the game due to coronavirus, with no professional matches in the UK before 1 July at best.
"It was so important for me to go over there last year, and to continue to go over there. I really enjoy it and for me it's about continuing to grow and learn the art of batting," he said.
"I'm actually very disappointed that I can't be over there playing for Glamorgan. I really enjoyed my time last year, everything about it."
He struck five centuries, including a career-best 182 against Sussex and a pair of hundreds against Worcestershire.
"There's no better place to learn your game and learn how to play in different conditions than going over [to the UK] and playing county cricket," he explained.
"I loved the coaches, I loved the players. It's quite tough to see the organisation there going through this tough time.
"I've been staying in contact with everyone there [at Glamorgan] so I hope the best for them and hope there's some cricket played in county cricket this year."
Labuschagne became the first Test cricket concussion substitute when he replaced Steve Smith on the fifth day at Lord's in 2019, making 353 runs at an average of more than 50 in the series against England.
He re-signed for Glamorgan despite interest from other counties, before impressive knocks of 185 against Pakistan and 215 against New Zealand saw him named Australia's Test player of the year in February.