Marnus Labuschagne has been having a significant influence with the ball, especially in the ongoing Vitality T20 Blast 2024. He plays mainly as a specialist batter for Australia. As a bowler, Glamorgan have come to rely more and more on him, and in recent games, he has bowled a large amount of overs.
But against Somerset in the final league-stage South Group game, he bowled as well as he had ever done. Ben Green and Lewis Gregory hit him for a pair of boundaries early on, but he made a determined recovery, getting rid of both batsmen on the final ball of his first over and the first ball of his second over, respectively.
Green’s half-tracker to deep mid-wicket was perhaps a lucky break that led to Marnus Labuschagne first wicket.
Thomas Bevan made a great grab there by stretching out across the outfield and diving full stretch. As a matter of fact, his second over turned out to be even more consequential and deadly for Somerset, as it ended with a maiden over and two more wickets, thereby stopping their progress.
Marnus Labuschagne finished with figures of 5-11 against Somerset 🤯
These are the best bowling figures recorded by a Glamorgan player in the Vitality Blast! pic.twitter.com/vUDtm60ScQ
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) July 20, 2024
In his third over, Labuschagne finished the innings with a low, flat ball that slid under Jake Ball’s misses cut shot. This was Labuschagne’s first five-wicket performance in a professional cricket match.
Kiran Carlson, the opener, was unstoppable earlier in the day, smashing his first T20 hundred with an incredible 135 off 64 balls that included eight sixes and fourteen fours.
A player who doesn’t often get to bowl, Labuschagne has also been extraordinarily frugal throughout the competition, keeping an amazing economy rate of just 7.87 runs per over.
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