Australia's Labuschagne boasts of best touch for six years ahead of Ashes

SYDNEY :Marnus Labuschagne reckons he is in his best form with the bat for six years after hitting his fifth century of the domestic season on Monday to all but ensure his place in the Australia squad for the Ashes.

The 31-year-old batsman managed only one century in 53 innings before, struggling with his technique, he was dropped from the test side during the tour of West Indies in June and July.

Two innings garnering a single each in the 50-overs series against South Africa in August were hardly an improvement, but the right-hander has since hit three centuries in one-dayers and a couple more in Sheffield Shield for Queensland.

"I feel like whenever you're batting badly, you just need to get that rhythm and that feel," Labuschagne told reporters after scoring 101 from 111 balls as Queensland beat New South Wales in a one-dayer in Sydney on Monday.

"And once you've got it, you protect it like it's gold. You know how to manage the situation of the game, you know when to take a risk or when not to. If you score runs, it's a habit."

Labuschagne played his first test in 2018 and made his Ashes debut the following year as cricket's first concussion substitute when Steve Smith was struck on the neck by the ball at Lord's.

A couple of years later, he topped the ICC test batting rankings but it was to his time in English county cricket before the 2019 Ashes series that he turned when asked the last time he felt in such good touch with bat in hand.

"The only one I can think of is probably 2019 at Glamorgan as a period of time but probably not across both formats," he added.

"As has been documented, there are a few things I've changed technically. It's all sort of come together, and it's nice that it's worked so far."

Labuschagne said