Pat Cummins Makes Big Statement on Marnus Labuschagne’s Test Future
Pat Cummins has made a huge statement on the availability of Marnus Labuschagne for the South Africa series. He has not been able to do good with the bat over the last few years. Now Cummins has confirmed that his selection for the South Africa series is not guaranteed.
Australia was able to produce a stellar comeback against Bangladesh, but there are still various things which the team has to look at. And one of those things is the challenges being faced by the top order, which includes Marnus Labuschagne. He has been a strong batter at number three, but lately he has not been able to score well.
Even in the series against Bangladesh, his struggles continued in the home conditions. This has now made it challenging for the board and the skipper Pat Cummins to decide whether he will be available for the South Africa series or not. Recently, Cummins talked about the availability of Labuschagne in the upcoming series.
He said, “I don't reckon I can guarantee anyone really. He's not scored the runs he would've liked. I did say a couple of days ago – and I think it still stands – he's been batting fantastically well off the field. But it doesn't mean much. You've got to convert that into runs out there. We've got a bit of time. Selectors will get together I'm sure in the next week or two and start nutting out that next Test squad. We know he's class when he's at his best, and going into this series we thought he was pretty close to his best. But he needs to start transferring that into runs out there, so we'll see in the next couple of weeks.”
Our Take
The selection of Marnus Labuschagne now remains a question for the Australian team too. He has been able to do well for the team in this format but his form has dipped significantly since the Ashes 2023. The series against Bangladesh has also turned out to be a failure for the Australian star, as he waits to bring his best back.