Marnus Labuschagne has been dropped from Australia’s Test squad. Chairman of selectors George Bailey confirmed on Monday that Labuschagne would be omitted from Australia’s yet-to-be-named squad for the first Test against New Zealand.
Squad Omission and Future Prospects
Australia’s next Test begins on 9 December in Perth, but Bailey and his panel have made an early call to put Labuschagne out of his misery. Bailey told reporters the out-of-form star wouldn’t be considered for the entire four-Test series against New Zealand.
However, the door remains open for a recall on ensuing tours to India and England. Bailey stated that the decision provides the player with space and removes conjecture, adding that the remainder of the squad will be selected following the conclusion of round four of the Sheffield Shield.
“This gives him a little bit of space and clears up a bit of conjecture … and we’ll pick the rest of that squad at the end of round four of Sheffield Shield,” Bailey said.
“It’s still possible [he will be recalled after the trans-Tasman Test series], absolutely. He’s always been an incredible performer at first-class level. So I expect that’ll be the case.”
“There’s no message to go back and do anything in particular, the currency is pretty obvious.”
Recent Form and Career Struggles
Labuschagne previously achieved 10 centuries from his first 33 Tests, maintaining an average of 59.43 and holding the position of the world’s top-ranked batter at one stage. However, a difficult tour of South Africa yielded scores of zero, four, 14, 39, 37, and 37, stretching a difficult streak to 49 innings without a Test century.
He was previously dropped ahead of last year’s tour of the West Indies, but earned an immediate recall for the home Ashes series by scoring two centuries for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield.
The 32-year-old, who was previously tipped as a future national captain by some analysts, will head back to captaining Queensland in the Shield while attempting to regain his confidence and form.
“We all know how good and how effective Marnus can be at his best, but that performance hasn’t been there,” Bailey said.
“He’s pragmatic, he knows that the fundamental nature of being a batter in the top six is to score runs and that just hasn’t happened.”
