Marnus Labuschagne Retains Spot Amid Pressure for South Africa Tour
Australian selectors have doubled down on Marnus Labuschagne, backing the out-of-form batter for next month’s Test tour of South Africa while weighing up a possible reshuffle that could send Steve Smith back to first drop.
Sixteen players were named on Monday for the two-Test series starting in Durban on 9 October, with the squad built largely around the group that beat Bangladesh in Mackay. Fast bowler Michael Neser, left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann and middle-order batter Cooper Connolly have been added to the touring party, giving Australia extra depth in conditions expected to favour seam and skill rather than sheer pace.
Labuschagne backed – but on notice
Labuschagne keeps his place at No 3, but the tone around him has shifted. He was the ICC’s top-ranked Test batter as recently as 2023; now he arrives in South Africa searching for runs and, increasingly, for answers.
His last Test hundred came in the 2023 Ashes. Since then, the numbers have sagged: an average of 25 in that Ashes series, followed by scores of 1, 31 and 4 against Bangladesh. For a player once considered Australia’s metronome, the rhythm has gone missing.
George Bailey, though, isn’t ready to move on.
“[We’re] not shying away from the fact that we’d like some more runs from Marn [Labuschagne], that’s clear, but we’re also confident that he can still make a positive contribution to that squad,” the chair of selectors said, nailing the duality of faith and expectation that now surrounds the 32-year-old.
One thing may work in Labuschagne’s favour: clarity. He has been left out of the ODI squad for the South Africa white-ball series, freeing him to focus solely on red-ball preparation.
“Clearly, there’s potentially a simplification or an ability to focus purely on red ball cricket for him, in the fact that he won’t be in the one-day series leading up to it, so that may be a benefit,” Bailey said. “You know Marn, he’ll prepare incredibly well and specifically for this tour.”
The message is clear enough. No distractions. No excuses.
Warm-up game, high stakes
Australia will play a single warm-up match in Potchefstroom, and for Labuschagne it looms as more than just a hit-out. It is an early examination of technique and temperament before the real thing begins in Durban.
It won’t just be his audition.
“There’ll be a handful of guys that cross over from the one-day series, there’s seven or eight, I think, that are coming over specifically for the Test tour,” Bailey said. “So I think partly it’ll be about just making sure that everyone’s getting the prep they need to be ready for the first Test.”
Behind that calm explanation sits a more ruthless reality: spots are not locked in. Form in Potchefstroom could shift the pecking order.
Connolly’s opportunity and a looming squeeze
Among those eyeing an opening is Connolly, the 23-year-old left-hander widely tipped for a long international career. He has already sampled Test cricket once, debuting in Sri Lanka last year, and has featured in both T20 and ODI formats.
Connolly will be in South Africa ahead of the Tests as part of the ODI squad named last week, a list notable for the omission of Labuschagne. That alone sharpens the sense of competition.
For Western Australia in last season’s Sheffield Shield, Connolly scored 216 runs at an average of 31, a modest return in isolation but underpinned by a strong overall first-class record. Across 13 matches, he averages 42 in the middle order – enough to keep selectors interested and incumbents honest.
Labuschagne is not just fighting his own form; he is fighting the future.
Smith at three again?
The bigger structural question hangs over the top order. Bailey confirmed that the panel will consider shuffling the batting line-up, including dropping Travis Head back down and restoring Smith to No 3, a position he owned for long stretches of his career.
“They’re all questions that’ll be on the table and that’s probably the consideration, isn’t it?” Bailey said. “Any time you do make a move, it’s what are you taking away from where they are performing, and that’s always going to be a question, particularly around Travis.
The success that he had at five, but also the success he has had at the top, and what he provides to the structure of the team there.
I think there are always going to be considerations, Steve has batted at three for a large part of his career, hasn’t done it for a little while and has had success there, so absolutely, that’ll be a conversation at some point.”
Head has become a game-breaking presence at five and, more recently, near the top. Smith remains Australia’s most bankable technician in difficult conditions. Any shift to accommodate one will ripple through the rest of the order.
For now, Labuschagne stays at three in name and in planning. The real verdict will come in South Africa, on harder, quicker pitches, with a queue of challengers waiting for the first crack in his armour.
