Australia vs New Zealand: Herschelle Gibbs' Hilarious Response To Fan's 'Marnus Labuschagne Not Playing For South Africa' Tweet

Former South Africa batsman Herschelle Gibbs had a hilarious response when asked about his feelings on Marnus Labuschagne, who was born in South Africa, playing for Australia. Labuschagne has been in prolific form for Australia ever since he came on as a concussion substitute for Steve Smith during the Ashes last year. On Saturday, he made his maiden Test double century in the third Test against New Zealand in Sydney. A fan asked Gibbs on Twitter "how do you feel when you think about Marnus Labuschagne playing for Australia but not for South Africa?"

"Good for him but it's time the Ozzies pronounced his surname correctly," Gibbs, who is known for being a good sport on social media, replied with a laughing emoji, referring to the batsman's complicated surname, that has drawn various pronunciations from commentators and teammates alike.

Good for him but it's time the Ozzies pronounced his surname correctly https://t.co/Ko503C2flu

— Herschelle Gibbs (@hershybru) January 4, 2020

In a Cricket Australia video released in September 2018, Marnus Labuschagne's teammates were asked to try and pronounce his name, which saw some hilarious attempts.

Nathan Lyon's "Loose Bus Change" was the funniest answer while Shaun Marsh could only cough up "Lasagna, maybe".

The batsman then cleared the air, saying his wife came up with the perfect way to answer the question.

"Lah-boo-shane, like champagne," he said before adding that the South African pronunciation was "Lah-boo-skuhk-knee".

While his name may be difficult to pronounce, Labuschagne is currently ensuring that it becomes one to remember.

He finished 2019 as the highest run-getter in the longest format of the game in the calendar year, grabbing his first Test century in the first match of the Australian summer against Pakistan and following it up with another century in the second Test.

Labuschagne then scored 143 in the first Test against New Zealand and bagged a half-century in the second Test, before his 215 in Sydney. He now has 1,400 runs in 14 matches, with an average of 63.64, with the second innings of the Sydney Test yet to be played.

Topics mentioned in this article

Australia Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team Herschelle Gibbs Marnus Labuschagne Cricket