Bring out the biltong for Labuschagne, an Ashes hero

Funny, the things cricketers put on their bats. England’s Jos Buttler has ‘Fuck it’ written at the top of his blade to remind him it’s only a game (or something like that). Australian Marnus Labuschagne, who for my money was one of the great heroes of the Ashes Test at Lord’s, has the image of an eagle drawn on the bottom of his bat. It’s to remind young Marnus of one of his favourite Bible passages, Isaiah 40:31: ‘For those who hope in the Lord, He shall renew their strength. They shall soar on wings like eagles; they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not be faint.’ It has the edge over ‘Fuck it’, but each to his own.

Labuschagne is a deeply religious man, and considering what he had to do at Lord’s the presence of God on your side was an added bonus — or an absolute essential.