Marnus Labuschagne has been voted Men’s One-Day Cup Player of the Year, the Queensland batter topping the poll after a blistering season of 468 runs in six innings.
Labuschagne, 29, collected 20 votes under the revised 3-2-1 system where each on-field umpire submits an individual card. New South Wales opener Kurtis Patterson finished one vote adrift on 19, while Tasmania all-rounder Beau Webster was third with 12.
Key numbers set the tone. Labuschagne averaged 78 and struck at 96.49, registering centuries against both finalists, Tasmania and New South Wales, as well as Victoria and South Australia. Only Phil Jaques, Brad Hodge and Daniel Hughes had previously managed four List A hundreds in a single Australian summer. He even chipped in with the ball, taking 2 for 26 against NSW at North Sydney Oval.
“It’s been a gratifying few months – I felt in good rhythm from the first game,” Labuschagne said in a Cricket Australia release. “Queensland’s dressing-room has been brilliant, and the lads up top kept giving me a platform.”
Queensland coach Wade Seccombe highlighted the wider impact. “The numbers speak for themselves, but his energy in the field and around the group sets a standard,” he noted.
Patterson, rewarded for three centuries and two fifties in seven knocks, pushed the race to the final round, while Webster’s robust middle-order contributions ensured podium status. Tim Ward (Tasmania) and Joel Curtis (Western Australia) shared fourth on ten votes.
Tasmania and New South Wales will contest next week’s Dean Jones Trophy final at Bellerive Oval. Labuschagne’s Bulls may have missed out, yet his consistency underlines why he remains one of Australia’s most adaptable run-scorers.
