Marnus Labuschagne Backed for South Africa Test Tour

Australian selectors have thrown their weight behind an out-of-sorts Marnus Labuschagne for next month’s Test tour of South Africa, while quietly plotting a possible reshuffle that could send Steve Smith back to his old home at No 3.

George Bailey named a 16-man squad on Monday, retaining every player from the recent series win over Bangladesh in Mackay and adding fast bowler Michael Neser, left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann and middle-order batter Cooper Connolly for the three-Test series starting in Durban on 9 October.

Labuschagne backed – but on notice

Labuschagne keeps his place as the incumbent first drop, despite a lean stretch that has dragged on far longer than Australia would like. Once the ICC’s top-ranked Test batter in 2023, he has not reached three figures in the format since the Ashes of that same year. He averaged 25 in that series and followed up with scores of 1, 31 and 4 in the recent Tests against Bangladesh.

Bailey did not sugar-coat the reality, but he did not blink either.

“[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.

Labuschagne has been left out of the ODI squad for the South Africa tour, a call that strips away the white-ball noise and leaves him with a single, stark task: fix his red-ball game.

“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. “I’m not sure around that, but you know Marn, he’ll prepare incredibly well and specifically for this tour.”

He will need to. At 32, and with his output dipping, the security that once wrapped around his spot has thinned. A warm-up match in Potchefstroom looms as more than just centre-wicket practice; it is a live audition.

Connolly and Inglis circle as pressure builds

Waiting in the wings are Josh Inglis and Connolly, the 23-year-old Western Australian widely viewed as one of the next big things in the national set-up.

Connolly has already tasted Test cricket with a debut in Sri Lanka last year and has featured in both T20 and ODI formats. He will be in South Africa early as part of the ODI squad named last week, a group notable for its omission of Labuschagne.

His Sheffield Shield numbers from last season – 216 runs at 31 for Western Australia – are modest on the surface, but his broader first-class record tells a fuller story: 13 matches, an average of 42 from the middle order. It is enough to keep the pressure on those above him.

A single tour game will not just be about Labuschagne’s touch. It will be a scrap for pecking order.

“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.”

Preparation is one thing. Selection calls are another.

Smith at three? Head on the move?

Behind the public vote of confidence in Labuschagne sits a more intriguing question: does Australia reshuffle its top order and restore Smith to No 3?

Bailey confirmed the idea is very much alive. The domino effect would be significant, with Travis Head’s position again under the microscope. Head has flourished at No 5 but has also opened and thrived in more attacking roles.

“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.”

Smith, meanwhile, has spent a large chunk of his glittering career at first drop and piled up runs there. He has not done it for some time, but the muscle memory remains.

“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.”

That conversation now hangs over the tour. If Labuschagne reignites in South Africa, Australia’s order may stay intact. If he stumbles again, the temptation to slide Smith back to No 3 and accelerate the rise of a player like Connolly will be hard to ignore.