Marnus Labuschagne Dropped as Australia Revamps ODI Squad

Australian cricket has drawn a hard line under its stuttering one-day form. The headline casualty is a World Cup winner.

Marnus Labuschagne, unbeaten hero of the 2023 World Cup final, has been dropped from Australia’s ODI squad for the upcoming tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa, as selectors swing decisively towards renewal with a World Cup defence just a year away.

In his place, and in the spotlight, comes a teenager.

Teenager Peake fast-tracked into the big time

Victorian youngster Ollie Peake will board the plane to Africa as one of the most intriguing selections in recent memory. Still a teenager, he has been picked for the three-match series against Zimbabwe, joining fellow emerging all-rounder Joel Davies in a squad that blends long-term stars with fresh faces.

Peake’s selection drops him into the heart of Australia’s planning for a World Cup on African soil next year. He will travel just weeks before the Test squad arrives for its own tour of South Africa, and 12 months out from the game’s biggest one-day stage returning to the continent.

Selectors have not been shy in clearing space for the next wave.

Labuschagne is one of five players cut after a bruising subcontinent campaign in Pakistan and Bangladesh earlier this year, where Australia lost both ODI series. Matt Short, Ben Dwarshuis, Todd Murphy and Liam Scott have also been left out.

Labuschagne left exposed as form bites

For Labuschagne, the timing could hardly be worse.

He carved an unbeaten 58 in the World Cup final against India in 2023, anchoring Australia’s famous triumph, but his one-day returns since have flattened out. His highest score in the format after that night in Ahmedabad remains an unbeaten 77 in England two years ago, and he managed just a single half-century across the recent tours of Pakistan and Bangladesh.

With the Test squad for South Africa to be named soon, his omission from the ODI group sharpens the questions around his broader role in Australia’s plans.

Big guns recommit to 2027

At the other end of the experience scale, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc have made their intentions crystal clear.

Both champion quicks have confirmed they will play the ODI leg in South Africa before the Tests, a move that underlines their desire not only to spearhead the red-ball attack but to be central figures at the 2027 World Cup as well.

Chairman of selectors George Bailey framed the six-match block – three ODIs in Zimbabwe, three in South Africa – as a critical stretch in building a side capable of defending the crown won so dramatically in India.

“This six-game series is an important lead-in to next year’s World Cup, being played in the same countries, for the group,” Bailey said, stressing the need to lock in a core while exposing the next generation.

He welcomed the returns of Mitch Marsh, Travis Head and Josh Hazlewood, with Cummins and Starc to join for the South African leg, describing it as a nucleus around which new talent such as Peake and Davies can grow.

“For Ollie and Joel, who we rate very highly, it’s another fantastic opportunity and a further chance for them to continue their exposure and growth in the Australian team,” Bailey said.

Marsh to lead as Australia chase missing rhythm

Mitch Marsh will captain the side in Zimbabwe, before sharing leadership duties with Cummins in South Africa. The split reflects a dual mission: rediscover authority in the format while stress-testing options under pressure.

Australia’s recent ODI record demands a response.

They were beaten 2-1 by Bangladesh in June in the longer white-ball format, after going down by the same margin to Pakistan in late May. Since edging England 3-2 in a northern summer series in 2024, their only ODI series victory has come against India in 2025/26. Either side of that, they have lost to South Africa and Sri Lanka, a run that has eroded the aura of a side that once treated bilateral ODI defeats as rare stumbles, not patterns.

This squad is designed to break that pattern.

The squad: core experience, sharp edges of youth

Australia’s ODI squad for Zimbabwe and South Africa:

• Xavier Bartlett (QLD/Gold Coast Cricket Club)
• Alex Carey (SA/Glenelg Cricket Club)
• Cooper Connolly (WA/Scarborough Cricket Club)
• Pat Cummins (NSW/Penrith Cricket Club)
• Joel Davies (NSW/Manly Warringah Cricket Club)
• Nathan Ellis (TAS/Lindisfarne Cricket Club)
• Cameron Green (WA/Subiaco-Floreat Cricket Club)
• Josh Hazlewood (NSW/St George Cricket Club)
• Travis Head (SA/Tea Tree Gully Cricket Club)
• Josh Inglis (WA/Joondalup Cricket Club)
• Spencer Johnson (SA/West Torrens Cricket Club)
• Mitchell Marsh (WA/Fremantle Cricket Club)
• Oliver Peake (VIC/Geelong Cricket Club)
• Matthew Renshaw (QLD/Toombul Cricket Club)
• Billy Stanlake (TAS/Greater Northern Raiders Cricket Club)
• Mitchell Starc (NSW/Manly Warringah Cricket Club)
• Adam Zampa (QLD/Sutherland Cricket Club)

It is a list that stretches across generations and states, from the towering experience of Cummins, Starc, Head and Hazlewood to the raw promise of Peake, Davies and Connolly.

Australia have sent a clear message: reputations from 2023 will not be enough to walk into a 2027 World Cup defence. The race for seats on that plane has started now – and for some, like Labuschagne, it may already be slipping away.