Australian top order batsman Marnus Labuschagne has spoken after Glamorgan fell just one run short of chasing 593 against Gloucestershire in the County Championship this week.
The run chase would have set a new world record for the largest successful fourth innings run chase in first class cricket history, but they were dismissed on the final ball of the match, having been given 152 overs to complete the task.
In what was a topsy-turvy game, both teams had been dismissed cheaply in the first innings, with Gloucestershire making 179, and Glamorgan 197. The home side then declared on 5/610, before Glamorgan eventually fell just a single run short, being dismissed on the last ball of the game to ensure a famous tie.
The Gloucestershire second innings had seen James Bracey hit 204, and another Australian in Cameron Bancroft hit 184, before Labuschagne (119) and Sam Northeast (187) led the way for Glamorgan.
Speaking on SEN Radio, Labuschagne said the chase had plenty of ups and downs, and that at one point, he and his teammates thought they were going to pull off a miracle.
"Whenever you are chasing a big score like that it's always about one step at a time," Labuschagne told SEN Radio.
"But the ground we played at was [a] very fast outfield so you just felt like if you got on top of the opposition and you scored and batted well, things could get out of hand very quickly.
"That's always in the back of your mind but you are just taking it one step at a time. Then when it gets down to 100 you start getting a little more invested and you get a bit more eager, then it gets down to 50, then we lost a couple more wickets and we are like, do we bat the draw or go all in for the win.
"So there was heaps of ups and downs and even into the last over, we got a boundary off the last ball of the second last over of the day, then we thought we were home. Needed two runs off the last over, we had Mason Crane the batter in on strike. He ended up facing four dots and then got a single, so it's over to the No. 11 to get the job done.
"Incredible gameโฆwe got their score, we just couldn't get one more."
Labuschagne, who will soon return to Australia ahead of the home Test summer for five Tests against India, as well as a new role captaining Queensland, has spent the winter in England and performed strongly for Glamorgan, finishing his first-class stint with scores of 96, 64 and 119 across his final four innings for the county.
