Rickelton's move to gloves and No. 6 spares him Labuschagne's axe ahead of Newlands decider
Rickelton's reinvention keeps him safe as Proteas and Aussies brace for Newlands finale
Ryan Rickelton does not speak Afrikaans, but he knows how to say perhaps the most Afrikaans name in world cricket. Addressing journalists at Newlands on Sunday, the South Africa batter pronounced Marnus Labuschagne's surname correctly — twice — as he fielded questions about the heated verbal exchanges between the Australian No. 3 and Proteas seamer Marco Jansen that have lit up the ongoing Test series between South Africa and Australia.
“Because Marnus is obviously Afrikaans is the highlight for [Jansen]; that they can chat in Afrikaans to each other,” Rickelton said, referencing the two Klerksdorp exports who have turned their shared hometown into a subplot of the series. “Obviously Marnus isn’t the only one feeling the heat. All of us are in various ways. But [Jansen and Labuschagne] have had a good contest. With Marco’s aggression he doesn’t shy away. He knows what an important cog Marnus has been in the Australian team. We also know the value of getting him out early, because he is still a seriously good player. Marco will be fired up for that and looking to put him under pressure.”
Two batters, two lean patches
Beneath the surface of the Jansen-Labuschagne rivalry lies an uncomfortable truth for both teams: neither Labuschagne nor Rickelton is in form. Rickelton has gone nine Test innings without reaching 50, and has faced 100 balls in only one of those knocks. Labuschagne's barren spell is even longer — 14 innings without a significant score. His nearest brush with a century of deliveries came in the second innings of last week's St George's Park Test, where he rashly tried to hoist the 98th ball he faced, from Simon Harmer, into a stiff westerly and was caught at long-on — by Jansen, naturally.
Rickelton, meanwhile, has been dismissed by a mix of poor shots, probing deliveries and stunning catches, including Matt Renshaw's screamer at slip in the first innings at St George's Park.
A safer seat at the table
Whether Jansen and Labuschagne renew acquaintances in the third and deciding Test at Newlands, starting Tuesday, is far from certain. Labuschagne's place in Australia's XI is under genuine threat after yet another failure. Rickelton, by contrast, can be more confident of his selection.
After Kyle Verreynne was dropped following the first Test at Kingsmead, Rickelton took over the gloves and shifted from opener to No. 6 — a change he has embraced. “Sometimes when I’m playing purely as a batter I can stand on the boundary for 90 overs and kind of drift away,” Rickelton said. “That’s what I’ve done growing up, keeping and batting in the middle order. I really enjoyed that; being locked in every single ball. I think it adds to my batting as well.”
Opening 'sucks', middle order sings
On the demands of his former role, Rickelton was candid: “Opening the batting in Test cricket sucks, it’s really hard. I’ve got a lot of respect for guys who open throughout their careers. I’ve watched guys like Aiden [Markram], who’s a free-flowing player, have to rein himself in a lot. He looks to score but his ability to hold himself back is really what it comes down to. It’s easier to bat in the middle order as the ball gets older and the bowlers get tired. You can be more expressive in the way you go about it.
“I think I’ve batted from one to six in this side; I’ve experienced all the roles. Opening definitely is the hardest. To hold yourself back has been challenging for me. Sometimes the newer ball makes me tighten up and makes me a better player. But you get the opportunity to bat at five and it’s not as favourable for the bowlers. That’s your time to cash in.
“Ashwell Prince mentioned in our batters’ meeting that the top three are doing the hard work to get overs under the belt, to take the newness of the ball away. It’s the middle order’s job to make sure that they score runs and cash in on the work that the top order have done.”
Home comforts at Newlands
Rickelton arrives at Newlands with happy memories. Though he has played just three of his 73 first-class matches there, they were defining: 90 and 102 not out for the Lions against Western Province in January 2022, an unbeaten 112 in the same fixture the following November, and a career-best 259 in the first innings against Pakistan in January last year.
“To come back to a ground where I'm familiar with red-ball and white-ball cricket, and where I’ve had some success, is comforting. I walked out here and I said to Kruger [van Wyk, South Africa’s fielding coach] that it’s good to be home. It’s nice to be looking forward to playing at a ground where I’ve put up a good show before.”
He batted at No. 4 in those domestic matches but opened in the Test — a reminder, like Labuschagne's surname itself, that things are not always as they first appear. The first members of the Labuschagne family arrived in South Africa as Huguenots; in France, their name sounded far closer to the Australian inflection. Take that, South African sportslovers.