Marnus Labuschagne Backed for South Africa Test Tour Amid Selection Changes
Australian selectors have thrown their weight behind an out-of-touch Marnus Labuschagne for next month’s Test tour of South Africa, while quietly plotting a possible reshuffle that could send Steve Smith back to the pivotal No 3 role.
Sixteen players were named on Monday for the three-Test series starting in Durban on 9 October, with the squad unchanged from the group that beat Bangladesh in Mackay. Fast bowler Michael Neser, left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann and middle-order batter Cooper Connolly have all been included for the trip.
Labuschagne backed – but on notice
Labuschagne keeps his place as the incumbent first-drop, despite a lean run that has stretched well beyond what Australia once considered a purple patch. He finished 2023 as the ICC’s top-ranked Test batter, but his last century came during the 2023 Ashes and the numbers since have sagged badly.
He averaged 25 in last summer’s Ashes and followed that with scores of 1, 31 and 4 against Bangladesh. For a player who once churned out runs with machine-like regularity, the drop-off has been stark.
George Bailey, though, is standing firm.
The selection chair stressed that the panel still believes Labuschagne can turn it around, even as he acknowledged the obvious. Australia want more runs. They also want the version of Labuschagne who once made No 3 feel like a closed shop.
One potential advantage: Labuschagne will be freed up to focus solely on red-ball cricket. He has been left out of the ODI squad for the preceding white-ball series in South Africa, giving him a clear runway to prepare specifically for the Tests. For a player known for obsessive preparation, that window could prove crucial.
Connolly presses his case
The safety net is shrinking, though.
Labuschagne will be jostling for a middle-order spot with Josh Inglis and Connolly, the 23-year-old West Australian widely viewed as one of the next in line. Connolly has already tasted Test cricket with a debut in Sri Lanka last year and has featured in both T20 and ODI formats.
His Sheffield Shield numbers last season were solid rather than spectacular – 216 runs at an average of 31 for Western Australia – but his broader first-class record is strong. Across 13 matches, he averages 42 in the middle order, a profile that keeps him firmly in the selectors’ thoughts.
Connolly will be in South Africa early as part of the ODI squad named last week, a group notable for Labuschagne’s omission. Time in local conditions, white ball or not, rarely hurts a young batter trying to elbow his way into a Test XI.
One warm-up, big consequences
A single tour match in Potchefstroom looms as a crucial audition.
For Labuschagne, it is a chance to rediscover timing, rhythm and some measure of authority at the crease before the first Test. For Connolly, Inglis and others, it is an opening to force the selectors’ hands.
Bailey indicated that seven or eight players will cross over from the ODI squad to the Test group, turning that warm-up fixture into a crowded contest for final spots and batting positions. Preparation, he stressed, will be tailored to make sure every player hits Durban ready.
Smith at three? Head on the move?
Behind the selection loyalty sits a live debate about the shape of Australia’s top order.
Bailey confirmed that a return to No 3 for Smith is firmly under consideration, with Travis Head potentially sliding back down the list. Smith has spent a large portion of his career at first-drop and enjoyed immense success there, even if he has not occupied the position for some time.
Any change, Bailey noted, comes with a cost. Head has been a game-breaker at No 5 and has also delivered impactful runs near the top. Moving him alters the chemistry of the line-up and the tempo of Australia’s innings.
That is the balance the selectors are weighing: keep faith with Labuschagne at three and maintain stability, or shift Smith up, lean on his history in the role, and reconfigure the order around him.
For now, Labuschagne remains the man in possession. South Africa, and that lone match in Potchefstroom, will decide how long he stays that way.
