Marnus Labuschagne has returned to Wales – where he is a fan-favourite – but he might be regretting it.
His two-match stint in Cardiff could mark the end of his Test career. That might sound extreme – but it’s not out of the question. Of course, being left out of one Test doesn’t mean the end – but with competition fierce and incumbents only sparingly dislodged, it could be a long way back.
Let me explain.
Six years ago, Glamorgan, the Welsh county that participates in England’s County Championship, made a strange decision by choosing Labuschagne as their overseas player.
I thought it was a mistake.
At the time, Labuschagne had a modest first class record and had had a brief but unsuccessful period in the Test side. I thought he was just a Shield-standard player.
Shows how much I know.
Labuschagne was a revelation in Glamorgan, scoring 1,114 runs at an average of 65.5, including 5 centuries. In fact he was too good – having to cut his stint short because he was unexpectedly chosen in the Australian squad for the Ashes.
Soon he was back in the Test side itself – and the runs kept coming. By December 2021 Labuschagne was officially ranked the best Test batter in the world. A year later, his Test average was 61.4 and he was being talked about as a potential all-time great.
Sadly, that was the high-water mark. The average has come down and down – it’s now 46.8. This is still excellent, but it masks the recent truth: in his last 20 Test matches he has been averaging just 28.6.
Nevertheless, on 13 May, the selectors showed faith, including Labuschagne in their 15-player squad for Australia’s World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s, starting on 11 June.
And the mail is he will be chosen in starting eleven, as an opener.
Well, I should say, ‘the mail was’ that he would be in the eleven.
You see, complicating things, Labuschagne has begun his two-match stint with twin failures: 0 and 4. In both innings he was caught edging a pace bowler to third slip.
As a result, people are talking.
Room in Australia’s top six is tight. Khawaja, Smith and Head are locks at 1, 4 and 5. Cameron Green, the prodigy, has returned from injury with two centuries and a match winning 67 not out for Gloucestershire and appears set to be picked at number 3 – Labuschagne’s normal spot.
Green will not be able to bowl until November, so the selectors will need a bowling option in the top six. Beau Webster – the incumbent number 6, who bowls both medium pace and off spin – seems a certainty. He has impressed with ball and bat in the county games he has played for Warwickshire.
So the only spot remaining is the other opener’s position. And while Labuschagne was failing twice, his main rival – the man who electrified the cricket world on Boxing Day, Sam Konstas – has been relaxing in Sydney, presumably watching the NRL and the Brisbane winter carnival.
The other contender, Josh Inglis – who made a century on Test debut in Sri Lanka – is swinging from the hilt for Ricky Ponting’s Punjab Kings in the frenetic IPL, (and banking nearly half a million dollars for his troubles!)
Labuschagne, however will be in red-ball action again soon: Glamorgan versus Middlesex at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff – his second and final game – starting on Friday.
It is an unremarkable venue, neither quaint nor big. I know, because I’ve been there once – I was briefly passing through Cardiff back in 2012, and, being the cricket nut I am, sneaked onto the edge of the playing surface when no game was on, until the staff kicked me off.
But this plain stadium could be the site of a significant moment in the recent history of Australian cricket. I hope it is not: as much as I am excited by Konstas, I don’t want it to end like this for Labuschagne.
However, if he again fails twice, the selectors might have no choice.
