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‘It’s his last chance’: Great delivers Marnus verdict as candid Aussie opens up on form slump Marnus Labuschagne believes he is only “one innings” away from turning his form around, as critics mount for the Australian No.3. The 32-year old’s spot in the Test team has grown increasingly tenuous through a three-year drought without a century, with scores of 1 and 31 in Australia’s shock loss to Bangladesh in Darwin only increasing scrutiny. But speaking to Fox Cricket commentators and former greats Brendon Julian, Alyssa Healy and Michael Hussey before play on Day 1 in McKay, Labuschagne was candid about his struggles – and his belief that a breakthrough is close. Watch every ball of Australia vs Bangladesh Test Series live and ad-break free during play with Fox Cricket on Kayo | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. “Everyone’s been there, right? You haven’t scored runs and you feel like you want to rush there sometimes,” he said of his form slump. “You don’t let the game come to you as much. It’s about recognising that when you’re out there and making sure you keep trusting the game, trusting the process, that leads to you getting the runs.” Labuschagne’s second-innings 31 in Darwin, where Julian noted he was “seeing them like a football”, saw the Queensland hint at his very best form, only to be bowled after playing all around an innocuous delivery from Tigers spinner Taijul Islam. “I got myself in a good position and just wanted to rush it a little bit,” Labuschagne said of the wicket. “I felt like it was an opportunity to put a bit of pressure on the bowler, and probably played a shot that I didn’t really need to at that time of the game. “It’s a new opportunity this week, and all those lessons that I learned last week, hopefully we can put them into place in this game.” Labuschagne put the dismissal down to a desperation to alleviate the pressure over his head by taking the fight back to the bowlers, while praising the support of close friends and family. “I’ve had some really overwhelming support from the people close to me and people around the game, saying that it looks good,” he said. “They’re all great things and it’s all good to hear. “But at the end of the day it’s about walking out there this game and making sure that, when I get myself in, I take that opportunity. “That out in the second innings (in Farwin) was certainly more of a concentration (issue) and trying to rush to that score that you’re so eager to get, rather than just letting the game come to you. “We’ve all been there where we’ve had bad runs. “It only takes that one innings and it turns everything around.” Hussey, who himself endured a dry run when he averaged 34 from 26 Tests between November 2008 and November 2010, likened criticism of Labuschagne and the Test team to a “roundabout”, where a single score can see the heat shift elsewhere. “All the heat’s on you at the moment, then you get a score and then it’s ‘okay, we’ve got to move on to the next person’ and all the heat goes onto someone else and it keeps going around and around,” the left-hander said. “For him (Labuschagne), it’s been a bit of an extended run, though, so you can imagine the heat is there. I’m sure he’d be feeling it. “He just needs to get in there, not rush as he said, just bat some time, hopefully get a big score and that’ll help his confidence moving forward.” Speaking earlier in the day, Healy, one of Australia’s greatest ever women’s cricketers, concurred, but said the faith chief selector George Bailey has shown in him should boost the Queenslander’s confidence. “He knows he’s under pressure, there’s no way around that,” she said. “You can see it in the way he’s playing his cricket. He’s probably a little more antsy at the crease than what we have seen in the past. “He knows that, he feels that. “But this is once again a tap on the shoulder from George Bailey and the selectors to go ‘we’ve got you, this is another opportunity to go out there and show everyone what you can do’. “We just heard Steve Smith say he’s batting as well as what he’s seen. His bat path is good. It’s just now about decision-making. Get all the latest cricket news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!! “So this is George Bailey saying to him ‘You’ve got another crack, go out there and make good decisions and get yourself a knock’.” Former great Mark Waugh believes twin failures in Mackay might see Labuschagne lose his spot in the side for the upcoming tour of South Africa, saying it is “now or never” for the No.3. “I think it’s his last chance,” Waugh said on Fox Cricket. “Just reading between the lines – Andrew McDonald in his press conference said he got 30, but we need more. “At some stage, you’ve got to say ‘Marnus, it’s now or never’. And I think this is it.” Australia resisted calls for major change throughout the line-up following the shock nine-wicket loss in Darwin. Opener Jake Weatherald’s omission in favour of Labuschagne’s Queensland teammate Matt Renshaw was the only move made by selectors heading into Mackay’s second Test. “You don’t want to get too emotionally invested in one bad performance,” Labuschagne said. “Yes, we recognised that that (first Test) wasn’t good enough – we’ve talked about things we need to improve on individually as a batting group and as a bowling group. “But that’s what ‘Ron’ (coach Andrew McDonald) and Patty (Cummins) and the staff have done so consistently over a long time. They keep the emotion out of it, they stay quite clear and calm. “Hopefully we can see all those things come into fruition today.”