Just as Australia’s captain Pat Cummins had promised, Marnus Labuschagne was the man in the middle in Adelaide on Thursday afternoon, lathering up while working hard with the bat in hand as dark clouds formed over the South Australian capital.

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Stifling conditions at Adelaide Oval meant Australia’s final training session ahead of the pink ball Test against India beginning on Friday afternoon was lightly attended by the hosts, with only a couple of batters shaping up for a sweat.

The hard work, Cummins said, had been done in the days preceding a Test that is critical for both Labuschagne and also for Australia as it seeks to level the Border Gavaskar Trophy after the 295-run drubbing in Perth to start the series.

The final nets session is a non-compulsory affair for both sides and it was notable that in searing temperatures, there was little to be gained by scorching oneself before the big Test.

The temperature on the weather app read 37C as Labuschagne batted alongside Nathan McSweeney and a young kid with a mop of hair, who was wearing only a front pad as he lived out a dream alongside the Internationals. He struck them sweetly too. Is he free on Friday?

As a gauge to the heat, let’s just say the besuited folk attending a lunch at the oval were red-faced on arriving after the short walk from the city rather than on leaving after enjoying the fine reds on offer from the various wine regions in SA. This was definitely a cold beer day.

How HOT? Had it been an Australian Open, for example, it could be guaranteed someone would have snuck an egg onto one of the courts and timed how long it took to fry.

As it stands, it was so testing that even a batter with an appetite for punishment like Labuschagne lasted until just after 2.30pm before calling it quits, though he was the last player to leave the nets under the ominous backdrop of the darkening sky.

A storm was coming. And more are expected tomorrow, both literally and figuratively, as the Aussies seek to deal with Jasprit Bumrah.

While it is expected to be slightly cooler in Adelaide, the threat of rain suggests the conditions will be humid again, and that could pose peril for anyone facing the swinging ball.

From the evidence on Thursday, the 30-year-old was active in the nets. On deflecting balls off good lengths, he would sprint a couple of strides towards the non-striker’s’ end. But towards the tail end, he also edged a couple of the throw-downs.

It was difficult to judge how long he had been out there for given the session started as Cummins conducted a press conference, where he was quizzed about Marnus, who has found himself the centre of the storm of discussion surrounding the side’s broader dip in form.

“The last few days, he’s been training well, like he always does, (and) hitting millions of balls,” Cummins said.

“I think it’s pretty possible to kind of dismiss, or ignore, some of the kind of commentary around perhaps being a little bit more proactive. I think you’ve seen that side of him in the nets. The challenge is always going out there and making sure you keep that mindset.

“But he’s been great, like he always is. (He is) always working on things, trying to plan … how he’s going to score a hundred in this Test.”

A century would be music to the ears of every Australian fan and it would go some way towards giving the hosts a chance to square the ledger after the walloping in the west. And it would also fortify the batter currently under fire. Virat Kohli showed in Perth it can be done.

The monster loss at a ground that had been a fortress has shaken the confidence of local fans about Australia’s prospects heading into the Second Test, though it is worth noting the hosts have won their last seven day-night Test matches.

But everyone has an opinion on Marnus, from those offered by the local Uber driver to those sought from Fox Cricket’s expert analyst Michael Vaughan and even Cricket Australia chairman Mike Baird.

Vaughan’s fellow Fox Cricket commentator Mike Hussey was in the nets with the No.3 earlier in the week offering encouragement and the former England captain said that the 51 Test representative has a task ahead of him.

“It’s not easy. I mean, he’s up against the best in the world in (Jasprit) Bumrah, so it’s not going to be easy for him,” Vaughan told Fox Cricket’s podcast The Follow On.

“But I think Marnus plays his best when he’s looking to score. The message I’d be giving to all the players on both teams is (that) you always need to have that mindset of looking to score. And the easiest thing is for us to tell him to do that. The hardest thing is to actually go out in the middle and do that.”

Aside from a handful of media and a few Australian coaching staff headed by Andrew McDonald, there was no-one looking in on the nets session on Thursday afternoon.

Vaughan said he would encourage Labuschagne to approach his innings at Adelaide Oval — which could yet prove a definitive one in his career — to consider the open space rather than the rivals hunting his scalp.

“All I’d ever say to a player that’s out of form — and generally, when you’re out of form, when you’re taking guard, you’re seeing fielders — you see three slips and a gully, you’ll see the short leg, a backward point, and mid-off and mid-on. You’ll see them,” he said.

“When you’re in a real good mindset and confident form, and you’re in a positive state of mind, you just see the gaps. You’ll see that there’s an opportunity at extra-cover to score. You’ll see a mid-wicket open. You’ll see there’s no square leg on the boundary, so if it’s short, you’ll be able to take on the pull shot.

“And that’s all I’ll say to a player, in particular, someone like Marnus, is go (out) and see the gaps. When you take your guard, look at the gaps (because) that’s where you’re going to get your runs. Don’t even worry about the fielders.”

While there were no fans in attendance on Thursday, a sell-out crowd and a massive broadcast audience will be watching when Labuschagne’s turn in the middle comes. But Vaughan said there is a lesson in that as well. Remember they want to see you bat.

“A great coach of mine when I was a kid, he always used to say, remember the three slips and the gully, they’re just there to watch you bat,” he said.

“They’ve got the best seat in the house to watch you bat. And that’s all I’d be saying to all the players, is that if you can try and make sure you look at the gaps, that’s where you’re going to score your runs, and if you can think like that, you’ll be in a more positive state of mind.”

Baird, meanwhile, was dealt a bumper as to whether he wanted to see Marnus in the middle bowling “130km/h” bouncers at Adelaide Oval while introducing new Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg to the media earlier on Thursday.

“To me, (130km/h) is quick. But no, I’ll leave that to Pat,” he said.

As for Cummins, preferably he will not need to bowl the 11-time Test centurion, stating the circumstances in the west led to Labuschagne having more of the ball than planned.

The injury that has ruled Josh Hazlewood out of the Adelaide Test flared on the third day, as India began to dominate, and restricted the amount they could bowl the star paceman.

Mitch Marsh, too, was underdone and there is still a question mark surrounding his fitness as he battles back stiffness.

But Cummins said medical staff had passed him fit to bowl and with Scott Boland replacing Hazlewood, the Australian skipper is hopeful of being able to rely on his frontline attack.

Of course, it is not just about Labuschagne, who has borne the brunt of the criticism following the debacle in Perth, largely due to the manner with which he batted at a time when others in the top order are not firing either.

After wicketkeeper Alex Carey, the only top-order batter for Australia to average more than 30 this year in Test cricket, said the team was surprised about the vehemence following the loss, both Cummins and the Cricket Australia hierarchy were quizzed about the reaction.

Responding to a query as to whether he felt there was almost a “desire to see this blow up or see this side fail”, the Australian skipper said they tried to avoid external observations.

“It is hard to say. I think … when things don’t go right, there’s enough commentators that will support you, but also some that will, of course, try and create some headlines,” he said.

“We try not to take too much notice of it. We just go about our things. We concentrate on, as I said, trying to play our own way, trying to give ourselves the best chance of winning games, and trying not to get too caught up in anything else.”

Baird, meanwhile, said the chatter surrounding the side following the walloping in the west was to be expected given the fascination fans have with Australian cricketers.

“They’re passionate,” he said.

“I mean, at the Board today, I’ve got two super fans coming in to talk to them and they’ve been to … hundreds and hundreds of Internationals. I want to understand what we can do better.

“Obviously Aussies love to win. They love a contest. And they’re proud of their cricketers, so I think what you’re seeing in the outpouring (of emotion) is just passion for the game. And we need that. It’s a big part of cricket.”