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Marnus Labuschagne has entrenched himself in Australia's Test XI and has a chance to do the same in white-ball cricket on a limited-overs tour of England.
Marnus Labuschagne has used a five-month hiatus to bolster his bid to become a multi-format superstar for Australia.
Labuschagne will depart for England on Sunday as part of a 21-man squad that will play some tune-up matches before facing the hosts in three Twenty20s and three ODIs.
The series starts in Southampton, bringing the batsman back to the scene of a gutsy knock in last year's intra-squad selection trial that secured him a spot in Australia's Ashes squad.
The Queenslander has since scored 1249 Test runs at an average of 83.26, dominating Pakistan and New Zealand in record-breaking fashion.
Labuschagne was from satisfied with his coming-of-age summer, wanting to prove he belongs in limited-overs cricket.
The right-hander made his ODI debut in January and played a further six one-dayers, notably scoring his maiden ton and earning praise from Virat Kohli before COVID-19 halted all international cricket.
The cricket obsessive, who was last year officially ranked the world's busiest player when ESPNcricinfo analysis found he took part in 117 days of first-class cricket over a 12-month period, keeps getting told he must have found the enforced break torturous.
The 26-year-old, whose appetite for hard work first caught the eye of Justin Langer in 2018, says he's missed the thrill of matches but loved an unprecedented chance to invest so much time in self-improvement.
"It doesn't matter what the format is, I want to get better," Labuschagne told reporters in Brisbane.
"Definitely some areas in one-day cricket I'm continuing to develop are my bowling, making sure I get a bit more consistent and become a better option for the skipper with the ball in those middle overs.
"I also want to keep working on my batting at the death.
"It's been good to have five months to work on those skills. Whereas if I was playing county cricket then you might not have the opportunity to work on those specific skills."
Being based at Cricket Australia's training facility in Brisbane and practising on turf pitches in the middle of winter has been a boon in that regard.
"We've also been lucky with the COVID situation," Labuschagne said.
"I can't wait to get back playing ... it's the longest time I've had in a while without a game."
The Klerksdorp-born star, who last month made an unbeaten 95 when Queensland trialled 'The Hundred' format in an intra-squad clash, will make his T20 debut for Australia if selected in the series opener on September 4.
Labuschagne expressed confidence the squad will shake off any rust during their practice games in Derby.
