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Marnus Labuschagne Axed as Australia Prepares for World Cup

Australian cricket has drawn a sharp line in the sand. Marnus Labuschagne, a World Cup hero less than three years ago, is out of the one-day squad. A teenage Victorian with barely a footprint on the international stage is in. And the countdown to a title defence in Africa has officially started.

Labuschagne left out as pressure mounts

Labuschagne’s unbeaten 58 in the 2023 ODI World Cup final against India felt like the beginning of a long white-ball chapter. Instead, it now looks like a high point he is scrambling to match.

Since that night in Ahmedabad, his returns have dwindled. His highest ODI score in that period is an unbeaten 77 in England two years ago, and he managed just one half-century on the recent tours of Pakistan and Bangladesh. With the Test squad for South Africa to be named soon, the timing of his omission could hardly be more uncomfortable.

He is not alone. Matt Short, Ben Dwarshuis, Todd Murphy and Liam Scott have also been cut after that difficult subcontinent campaign in May and June, as selectors reacted to a worrying pattern in Australia’s 50-over cricket.

Teenager Peake gets his shot

Into that space steps Ollie Peake. Nineteen, Victorian, and now on a plane to Africa.

The teenager has been named for the ODI series against Zimbabwe this month, alongside fellow emerging all-rounder Joel Davies. It is a striking show of faith: three games in Zimbabwe, a Test tour of South Africa just around the corner, and a World Cup on the same continent next year.

Chairman of selectors George Bailey made it clear this is not a casual look at the future, but a deliberate audition for a squad that must defend the crown it won so dramatically in India in 2023.

“This six-game series is an important lead-in to next year’s World Cup, being played in the same countries, for the group,” Bailey said. “For Ollie and Joel, who we rate very highly, it’s another fantastic opportunity and a further chance for them to continue their exposure and growth in the Australian team.”

The message is blunt: performance now matters more than reputation.

Big guns back for South Africa leg

The shake-up is not just about youth. It is also about recommitting the core.

Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc have confirmed they will play the ODI leg in South Africa before the Tests, a clear sign they intend to be central figures again at the 2027 World Cup. For a format in which Australia have drifted, their presence is a statement of intent.

Bailey welcomed the return of senior pillars across the two tours.

“As such it’s great to have Mitch (Marsh), Travis and Josh returning, then Pat and Mitch (Starc) for the SA leg. This gives us our core of players mixed with some we think will continue to make an impression.”

Travis Head, Josh Hazlewood and Cameron Green are all back in the mix, while Adam Zampa remains the frontline spinner. There is pace depth with Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson and Billy Stanlake, and flexibility in the middle order with the likes of Cooper Connolly, Matthew Renshaw, Alex Carey and Josh Inglis.

Marsh and Cummins share the reins

Mitch Marsh will captain the side against Zimbabwe, then share leadership duties with Cummins in South Africa. Australia are not just hunting form; they are testing combinations, personalities and tactical voices under pressure.

They need answers quickly. Since beating England 3-2 in the northern summer of 2024, Australia’s ODI record has sagged. A series win over India in 2025/26 stands as the only bright spot. Around it: defeats to South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and, most recently, a 2-1 loss to Bangladesh in June that followed a similar 2-1 reverse in Pakistan.

For a team that once treated bilateral ODI series as routine conquests, those numbers sting.

Squad in full

Australia – Zimbabwe and South Africa ODI Series:

  • Xavier Bartlett (QLD/Gold Coast Cricket Club)
  • Alex Carey (SA/Glenelg Cricket Club)
  • Cooper Connolly (WA/Scarborough Cricket Club)
  • Pat Cummins (NSW/Penrith Cricket Club)
  • Joel Davies (NSW/Manly Warringah Cricket Club)
  • Nathan Ellis (TAS/Lindisfarne Cricket Club)
  • Cameron Green (WA/Subiaco-Floreat Cricket Club)
  • Josh Hazlewood (NSW/St George Cricket Club)
  • Travis Head (SA/Tea Tree Gully Cricket Club)
  • Josh Inglis (WA/Joondalup Cricket Club)
  • Spencer Johnson (SA/West Torrens Cricket Club)
  • Mitchell Marsh (WA/Fremantle Cricket Club)
  • Oliver Peake (VIC/Geelong Cricket Club)
  • Matthew Renshaw (QLD/Toombul Cricket Club)
  • Billy Stanlake (TAS/Greater Northern Raiders Cricket Club)
  • Mitchell Starc (NSW/Manly Warringah Cricket Club)
  • Adam Zampa (QLD/Sutherland Cricket Club)

A once-settled one-day side now feels wide open. For Peake and Davies, it is a door flung ajar. For Labuschagne, it is a jolt at the very moment Test and World Cup plans are being drawn.

Australia have chosen upheaval over comfort. The next six games will reveal whether that gamble builds a champion’s defence, or exposes just how far this team has to climb.

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