He was dismissed for a cheap 17 and 22 against South Africa in the WTC Final.
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has come in support of the veteran batter Marnus Labuschagne after the latter’s recent struggle in Tests. Before starting the next World Test Championship (WTC) cycle with the tour of the West Indies, the former player emphasised the batter’s Test average of 46.19 to elaborate on his importance in the Australian squad.
“Anyone that averages 46 in Test cricket at that age is important. We’ve got older players there who are closer to the end than the start, we’ve got some younger players coming in, and you definitely want guys that have got 60-odd Test matches,” he said to Sydney Morning Herald.
The head coach opened up on Labuschagne’s recent difficulties in finding his rhythm. However, he also acknowledged the 30-year-old’s several remarkable performances throughout his career so far. McDonald believes that the batter will soon regain his form and will continue to be a pillar of the Australian top order.
“He’s a big part of the future of the team. At the moment, he’d be disappointed with the returns, he’s missed out on big scores. We’re confident he can return to his best, hence why we keep picking him. He’s on contract, he’s an important player, he gives us stability at his best at the top, and we like to look at our players at their best,” he added.
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Further, he has also taken a dig at those who were questioning Labuschagne’s place in the Aussie squad. The coach brushed away all the speculations of dropping him from the team. The 44-year-old clearly stated that he will get a longer run in the red-ball matches ahead.
“It’s at what point do we stop picking him. 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,” concluded McDonald.
Notably, Australia will commence the next WTC cycle for 2025-27 with the three-match Test tour of the West Indies. The first match will be played in Barbados, starting on June 25. The next two fixtures will begin on July 3 and July 12 in Grenada and Jamaica, respectively.
The 30-year-old has notched up 4,435 runs in 58 red-ball matches so far. This includes 11 hundreds and 23 fifty-plus scores. However, the batter has seen a recent decline in his form. He has only managed to score two half-centuries (51, 90) and a ton (111) in his latest 14 overseas matches across four series, against India, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
Labuschagne has also gone through a lean patch in the recent home matches. After a brilliant series against Pakistan (207 runs in three matches), he failed to carry on the momentum. He put up only three fifty-plus scores in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 series. The batter was also dismissed for a cheap 17 and 22 against South Africa in the WTC 2023-25 Final.
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