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Marnus Labuschagne Survives Selection Cut for South Africa Tour
Marnus Labuschagne has survived the cut.
Under pressure after a prolonged lean stretch, the 32-year-old has been backed for Australia’s three-Test tour of South Africa, named on Monday in a 16-man squad for the series starting in Durban on October 9.
Labuschagne given another shot
The numbers have been unforgiving. Labuschagne hasn’t raised three figures in Test cricket since the 2023 Ashes and comes off scores of 1, 31 and 4 in the recent series against Bangladesh. His averages tell the story of a gradual slide: 34.91 in 2023, 30.93 in 2024, 20.84 in 2025, and 24.20 so far this year.
Even so, the selectors have chosen faith over the axe. He will return to the country where his Test career truly took off, on Australia’s first red-ball tour of South Africa since the explosive Sandpapergate series in 2018.
He has been overlooked for the white-ball leg of the tour, but remains firmly in the mix to hold his place in the starting XI when the first Test begins.
Connolly rewarded as Australia load up on options
The other headline is the inclusion of all-rounder Cooper Connolly in an extended squad. The 21-year-old left-hander, who averages 42 in first-class cricket from 13 matches, keeps his place in the Test frame after debuting against Sri Lanka in Galle last year.
Connolly strengthens both the middle order and the spin department. Australia will travel with three spin options: Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann joined by Connolly, whose presence underlines how seriously the selectors are treating the possibility of turning pitches across the three Tests.
Chair of selectors George Bailey underlined the demands of the trip, describing it as “a reasonably condensed three-game series, on the back of six one-day internationals, with only short breaks between each game”. The message is clear: this squad is built for flexibility and endurance as much as for pure firepower.
Fast bowlers locked in, Weatherald misses again
The pace cartel remains familiar and formidable. Captain Pat Cummins will lead an attack that also features Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Michael Neser, giving Australia a full range of seam and swing options.
Alex Carey retains the gloves, with Josh Inglis again named as reserve wicketkeeper. Cameron Green and Beau Webster add further depth as seam-bowling all-rounders, offering extra balance if conditions or scheduling demand rotation.
At the top of the order, there is no reprieve for Jake Weatherald. The opener, dropped for Matthew Renshaw after Australia’s defeat to Bangladesh in Darwin, has been overlooked once more, with Renshaw holding his spot in the touring party.
The squad Australia will take to South Africa
- Pat Cummins (NSW/Penrith Cricket Club) (c)
- Scott Boland (VIC/Frankston Peninsula Cricket Club)
- Alex Carey (SA/Glenelg Cricket Club)
- Cooper Connolly (WA/Scarborough 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)
- Matthew Kuhnemann (TAS/Clarence Cricket Club)
- Marnus Labuschagne (QLD/Redlands Cricket Club)
- Nathan Lyon (NSW/Northern District Cricket Club)
- Michael Neser (QLD/Gold Coast Cricket Club)
- Matthew Renshaw (QLD/Toombul Cricket Club)
- Steve Smith (NSW/Sutherland Cricket Club)
- Mitchell Starc (NSW/Manly Warringah Cricket Club)
- Beau Webster (TAS/Kingborough Cricket Club)
A hardened core, a handful of all-rounders, three spin options and a batter fighting to rediscover his old dominance in the country where his story began. For Labuschagne, this tour is no routine assignment; it looks and feels like a crossroads.
