Marnus Labuschagne Retains Faith as Australia Prepares for Test Tour

Australian selectors have handed Marnus Labuschagne one more backing of faith, naming the out-of-form batter in the 16-man squad for next month’s Test tour of South Africa – and reopening the door for Steve Smith to reclaim the No 3 spot he once made his own.

Selection chair George Bailey confirmed on Monday that the group which swept Bangladesh in Mackay will form the core of the touring party, with fast bowler Michael Neser, left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann and batter Cooper Connolly added for the series starting in Durban on 9 October.

Labuschagne stays, questions remain

Labuschagne’s name on the team sheet was never going to slip under the radar. Not after the last 18 months.

The 32-year-old was the ICC’s top-ranked Test batter in 2023, but the runs have dried up since. His last Test century came in the 2023 Ashes. He averaged 25 in that series, then followed up with scores of 1, 31 and 4 in the recent Tests against Bangladesh.

Bailey did not pretend the numbers are acceptable, yet he stood firm behind the incumbent No 3.

“[We’re] not shying away from the fact that we’d like some more runs from Marn [Labuschagne], that’s clear, but we’re also confident that he can still make a positive contribution to that squad,” he said.

This tour strips Labuschagne’s workload back to its red-ball core. He has been left out of the ODI squad for South Africa, freeing him from the one-day series that precedes the Tests.

“Clearly, there’s potentially a simplification or an ability to focus purely on red ball cricket for him, in the fact that he won’t be in the one-day series leading up to it, so that may be a benefit,” Bailey said. “You know Marn, he’ll prepare incredibly well and specifically for this tour.”

The message is blunt: the position is his, but the runway is shortening.

Smith at three back on the table

Behind the public backing sits a clear sub-plot. Australia are again weighing up a reshuffle of their top order, including a possible return to No 3 for Steve Smith and another move for Travis Head.

Bailey confirmed every option is being discussed.

“They’re all questions that’ll be on the table and that’s probably the consideration, isn’t it?” he said. “Any time you do make a move, it’s what are you taking away from where they are performing, and that’s always going to be a question, particularly around Travis.”

Head has flourished at No 5 but also shown his value at the top. Smith, meanwhile, built much of his legendary record at first drop.

“Steve has batted at three for a large part of his career, hasn’t done it for a little while and has had success there, so absolutely, that’ll be a conversation at some point,” Bailey said.

The debate is simple but sharp: do selectors protect the roles that work, or gamble on a structural tweak to jolt the top order back into dominance?

Connolly and Inglis circle

Labuschagne’s security is also being tested from below.

He will be competing for a place with Josh Inglis and 23-year-old Cooper Connolly, who has long been earmarked as one of the next significant middle-order players in Australian cricket.

Connolly has just one Test cap – earned in Sri Lanka last year – along with T20 and ODI appearances. He will already be in South Africa for the ODI series, in a squad named last week that notably did not include Labuschagne.

At state level, Connolly’s recent Sheffield Shield numbers for Western Australia were solid rather than spectacular: 216 runs at an average of 31 last season. His broader first-class record, though, is strong. Across 13 matches, he averages 42 in the middle order.

That profile, combined with his versatility, explains why his name keeps surfacing whenever Australia ponder their next batting evolution.

One warm-up, big stakes

The tour features just a single warm-up fixture in Potchefstroom. On paper, it is a tune-up. In reality, it could shape careers.

For Labuschagne, it is a rare, contained window to rediscover his method and his authority at the crease. For Connolly, Inglis and others on the fringe, it is a live audition.

“There’ll be a handful of guys that cross over from the one-day series, there’s seven or eight, I think, that are coming over specifically for the Test tour,” Bailey said. “So I think partly it’ll be about just making sure that everyone’s getting the prep they need to be ready for the first Test.”

Preparation is the public line. Selection pressure is the undercurrent.

Australia head to South Africa with a settled core, a wobbling No 3, and a modern great in Smith hovering over that position once more. If Labuschagne cannot turn history back in Durban and beyond, the next rewrite of the batting order may be far less forgiving.