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Marnus Labuschagne Retained for Australia's South Africa Test Tour

Marnus Labuschagne has dodged the chop. For now.

Under mounting pressure after a long lean stretch in the baggy green, the 32-year-old has been retained for Australia’s three-Test tour of South Africa, named on Monday in a 16-man squad for the series starting in Durban on October 9.

It’s a show of faith, but not a blank cheque.

Labuschagne hasn’t reached three figures in Test cricket since the 2023 Ashes. His returns have steadily slid: an average of 34.91 in 2023, 30.93 in 2024, 20.84 in 2025, and just 24.20 this year. In the recent series against Bangladesh he mustered scores of 1, 31 and 4. Those numbers would usually trigger a brutal conversation.

Instead, he’s on the plane for Australia’s first Test tour of South Africa since the Sandpapergate fallout of 2018, a trip heavy with history and scrutiny.

He will not feature in the white-ball leg of the tour, a clear sign his grip on an all-format role has loosened. Yet he remains firmly in the frame to hold his place in the Test XI, with selectors backing his class and past output over his current drought.

Connolly rewarded as selectors bulk up options

If Labuschagne’s inclusion is about loyalty, Cooper Connolly’s is about opportunity.

The West Australian all-rounder, 20, has been named in an extended squad after quietly building a compelling first-class record: a batting average of 42 from 13 matches. He’s no stranger to foreign conditions either, having debuted in Test cricket against Sri Lanka in Galle last year.

Connolly joins Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann to give Australia three spin options for the tour, a clear nod to the variety of surfaces expected across the three Tests. He adds depth with the bat and flexibility with the ball, a modern all-rounder’s package that gives Pat Cummins more levers to pull.

All-rounders Cameron Green and Beau Webster also make the cut, reinforcing Australia’s desire to lengthen both batting and bowling. Green remains central to the balance of the side, while Webster’s height, seam movement and batting ability offer a different angle in conditions that can change dramatically from venue to venue.

Behind the stumps, Josh Inglis travels as reserve wicketkeeper to Alex Carey, who holds the gloves and his spot after a period of speculation earlier in the year.

Fast bowling core intact, Weatherald overlooked again

The fast-bowling cartel is familiar and formidable. Captain Pat Cummins leads an attack backed by Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Michael Neser. Five quicks for three Tests in a condensed window speaks to the physical toll expected on the seamers.

This is no leisurely tour. As chair of selectors George Bailey noted, the three Tests follow six one-day internationals with only short breaks between games, demanding rotation and depth rather than a settled but stretched XI.

One player who again finds himself on the wrong side of the line is opener Jake Weatherald. Dropped for Matthew Renshaw after Australia’s loss to Bangladesh in Darwin, he has missed out once more, with Renshaw retained as the spare top-order option behind the established names.

A squad built for a bruising, compact tour

Australia’s Test squad for the South Africa tour:

  • Pat Cummins (NSW/Penrith Cricket Club) (c)
  • Scott Boland (VIC/Frankston Peninsula Cricket Club)
  • Alex Carey (SA/Glenelg Cricket Club)
  • Cooper Connolly (WA/Scarborough 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)
  • Matthew Kuhnemann (TAS/Clarence Cricket Club)
  • Marnus Labuschagne (QLD/Redlands Cricket Club)
  • Nathan Lyon (NSW/Northern District Cricket Club)
  • Michael Neser (QLD/Gold Coast Cricket Club)
  • Matthew Renshaw (QLD/Toombul Cricket Club)
  • Steve Smith (NSW/Sutherland Cricket Club)
  • Mitchell Starc (NSW/Manly Warringah Cricket Club)
  • Beau Webster (TAS/Kingborough Cricket Club)

Bailey described it as a squad built for flexibility in a “reasonably condensed” series, one that must withstand travel, changing conditions and the mental fatigue of a high-stakes return to South African soil.

For some, this tour will be about consolidating status. For Connolly and Webster, it’s a chance to force their way into long-term plans.

For Labuschagne, it feels like something else entirely: a last, significant audition to prove he still belongs at the heart of Australia’s Test batting order.

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