Follow UsSince July 2023, Marnus Labuschagne hasn’t scored a Test hundred and has only smashed six half-centuries, putting his spot under immense pressure. Labuschagne was offered a new lease of life, as Australia made him open in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final, with scores of 17 & 22.
While he certainly had starts, his inability to convert those starts into a substantial score has put the axe hanging over his head. Australia’s head coach, Andrew McDonald, also didn’t mess his words, stating that they need to nail down that ‘opening combination’, signalling a possible end to the Labuschagne experiment.
"It was a big discussion leading into this Test match and I was on the record a couple of weeks ago talking about the need to bed down that opening combination," head coach Andrew McDonald said. "We've had a bit of musical chairs there so it might be the time."
While McDonald hinted that Labuschagne might get dropped shortly, he added that the soon-to-be 31-year-old would be extremely disappointed over his returns.
"If he can get his game in good order for the next four or five years, he can underpin that batting order. But at the moment, he'd be disappointed with the returns. He's missed out on big scores. He threatened at the MCG, got a pair of 70s, and, you know, if they had been a pair of hundreds, the conversation shifts as well. But we're confident that he could return to his best, and hence (that is) why we keep picking him. It is at what point do we stop picking him?
"I think most players across their journey get dropped at some point in time. I think he had a positive week here where he worked on the right things and had a great prep. There's no harder worker than Marnus. Now it's really just about the returns. And at the moment, as I said, he'd be disappointed."
"I know you guys want to talk about the batting line-up and where Marnus fits and all of that. But we're looking into all three facets of the game where we need to keep improving to stay ahead of the opposition. I think that the bowling had some areas where we let the tempo of the game shift on day three,” he added.
However, the former Australian all-rounder isn’t too fazed by Usman Khawaja’s form, as the left-hander suffered a poor outing at Lord’s, with scores of 0 and 6. McDonald backed the 38-year-old to overturn his form.
"He's [Khawaja] on contract, he's an important player," McDonald said. "He gives us stability at his best at the top. And we like to look at our players at their best.
"No doubt, a couple of failures here and people then start to talk about maybe it's the end. I don't see an end date with the way he's training, the way he's preparing, the way he's moving. He went back to Shield cricket, got 100 last [season]. So I think he's got plenty of runs left in him. It'll come down to his inner drive and the way he prepares.
"It was a bit the same with Davey as well. The way he moved, we saw some positives in that. We knew that the runs were around the corner. We feel as though Usman's got a big part to play."
Australia’s next Test assignment would be against the West Indies, starting June 25 (Wednesday), at Kensington Oval in Barbados.