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One for the ages: Marnus on Head's "ridiculous" century
SEN • November 23rd, 2025 11:06 am
Australia’s first Ashes Test triumph came solely off the bat of Travis Head, and Marnus Labuschagne bore witness with the best seat in the house.
Joining Head following the dismissal of opener Jake Weatherald, Labuschagne entered the fray at 1-75, putting together a 117-run partnership across 15 overs to kill the contest after just two days.
Head, who put his hand up to open as Usman Khawaja was ruled out with injury, put on a masterful performance at Perth Stadium, scoring 123 runs off 83 balls in what was an innings for the ages, answering the questions of Australia’s top order with a clinic.
Watching on from the opposite crease, the moment was far from lost on Labuschagne.
“The last two days have just been ridiculous,” he told SEN Cricket.
“The drama, obviously with Uzzie’s back spasm, the tea chat, who’s going to open, what are we going to do, was it Gazza, were we going to throw something… he just wanted it. He went out there and put on an absolute masterclass!
“It just felt like when it was going, I felt the same feeling as I did in the World Cup Final. Stay there, give him as much strike and rhythm as he’s got while he’s hot. You build off that as a player. You get rhythm as well and build a great partnership. Unbelievable.
“If there was a camera on my face, it would be like I’m on the couch watching it. I’m yelling stuff out, ‘that’s unbelievable', cheering, 'that’s outrageous Heady!’
“It was just unbelievable. I’m glad I don’t have the mic on because you’d hear me being a clown. Just to watch that pure ball striking, that clarity, and even when they went to different plans, he took different options… it was awesome.”
With 205 runs to chase, Head’s brilliance with the bat put all the pressure back on the English, who seemingly didn’t have an answer to stem the flow.
“That innings there, in the context, was pretty ridiculous,” Marnus continued.
“200 runs can be a tricky chase. The wicket was quite nice, I only batted out there when we had the momentum, so you just keep going. But my goodness.
“The ball striking… you just put them under pressure. They didn’t really know where to go, they tried different options… one for the ages.
“He just kept saying to me, watch the next ball… I’m just a spectator at the other end, going ‘mate, that’s outrageous!’ It was awesome.”
Beyond Head’s phenomenal innings, Labuschagne himself turned in a top performance, claiming a half century off 48 balls to close the chase after just 28 overs.
After an incredibly difficult run of form, being dropped from the Test team and struggling to find his feet at the level, Labuschagne reflected on his return to form, citing his mental clarity as a result of his time out of the side.
“To get back here… I felt I needed to be dropped, so I could clear my mind and get my game in order,” he said.
“To start the season in Shield cricket the way that I have, one day cricket, any game that I’ve played, I just tried to take that into the game.
“It’s nice to be able to top off that comeback game not with nine off 40, although Steve and I were really close to getting that game where we needed it to be (in the first innings).
“But to come out and play a different type of innings, to put the pressure back on and get 50 off 50…
“When I played at my best, it’s always been great mental clarity. The technique has differed over years, and right now I think my technique is in its best order.
“I can score off-side, I can score leg side, I can play the short ball well, I’ve got a lot of options with my technique. But I think that mental clarity is the key, and it’s something that I probably didn’t have.
“When you are in the whirlpool of missing out an under pressure… I just felt like I got my technique in order, and the rest came with.”
Despite claiming an invaluable 1-0 lead in the absence of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, the series is far from over, with the English expected to reset and fight back in the coming Tests.
“It’s a five Test match series, so as amazing as this win is, we know last year we were on the wrong side of this win,” said Marnus.
“We gathered, re-focused and got the job done in Adelaide and the MCG. As much as I would like to say, yeah it is a blow, I’ve seen teams come back from many blows.”
The Second Test begins Thursday December 4th in Brisbane, with ball-by-ball coverage right here on SEN.
