Not Marnus Labuschagne, Ex-Australia Captain Wants Former RCB Player to Bat At No.3 for Australia in WTC Final

Marnus Labuschagne is battling through a rough patch in his career. Since scoring his last test century in the Ashes 2023, the batter has struggled to get going in recent times.

His poor form and lack of consistency have resulted in losing the top spot in the ICC test batting rankings. After scoring some strokeful half-centuries in the BGT series against India at home, he has again struggled to get the rhythm back in the recently concluded two-match test series in Sri Lanka.

While Australia dominated the series and whitewashed the hosts to secure a rare test series win in the subcontinent, Labuschagne only managed to score 45 runs across three innings.

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Aaron Finch wants Cameron Green to feature in number 3

Ex-Australia captain Aaron Finch has backed former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) player Cameron Green to replace Labuschagne in their Test batting line-up. Green, who played for RCB in IPL 2024, is recovering from a back injury and is set to be fit ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) Final.

“If Cameron Green is healthy, he just provides so much extra to that bowling line-up as well as with the batting. He’s got the ability to bat anywhere in the order”, stressed Finch in a podcast with ESPN Cricinfo.

Michael Clarke weighs on Labuschagne’s experience

Another former Aussie captain disagrees with Finch as he emphasizes Labuschagne’s experience of playing ‘lot of county cricket’ over his recent form. Knowing well the English conditions and having the experience to bat at the hardest position has kept Labuschagne in contention despite his recent struggle.

“I hope they pick him for the Test Championship [final]. It’s completely different conditions against a different team. He’s played a lot of county cricket. He knows English conditions as well as anyone. Remember, he bats in the hardest place as well. I think No. 3 is the hardest place to bat in Test cricket”, said Clarke while acknowledging his recent struggle for runs.

Defending champions Australia will face South Africa in the WTC Final at Lord’s, starting from June 11.

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