In his last five Tests dating back to January this year, Labuschagne has scored 123 runs at an average of 13.66.
There were seven single-digit dismissals in that run and his average would be considerably lower had he not played 90 innings against New Zealand.
The decline has continued for two years, with Labuschagne's average almost half of what it was in his first 52 Test innings.
There is a notable change in his statistics – and perhaps his technique – before the start of the South Africa series in December 2022 and beyond.
In the opening phase, he averaged 54.77 against long deliveries from seamers.
This was the third most of any Test batter during this period after New Zealand duo Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls (at least 500 good length balls).
But since the start of this South Africa series, Labuschagne has averaged 15.33 on good length deliveries, which is the third lowest for that particular length (at least 300 good length balls).
He is also more vulnerable to balls in the channel outside the off-stump. In the first third he achieved a world-leading average of 78.55, but this has fallen to 17.50 – the lowest in the world.
This could be related to a change in his foot movement at the start of his innings.
In the first phase of his career, he played forward on 49% of the first 30 deliveries he faced and played on the back foot for 33%. Those percentages grew to 30 and 35 in the second phase of his career.
His intercept point – where a batsman, on average, makes contact with the ball – has actually moved forward by 15cm, suggesting he is trying to play the ball earlier, perhaps to reduce the chances of being out lbw .
“You wouldn’t be human if it didn’t affect you in some way. It affects some players more than others,” former Australia captain Steve Waugh said on TNT Sports.
“It should be an option for Marnus to play club cricket, just to get going, get the ball out of the middle and just have a good feeling.”
England's Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan added: “The other school of thought for someone like Marnus Labuschagne – who is a big thinker of the game and from the outside looks like he's over-complicating it a little – is just don't put a bat in his hand to take.” for a week. Go and switch off.”
