‘When Do We Stop Picking Him?’: Marnus Labuschagne Under Fire After WTC Failure

Marnus Labuschagne's spot in the Australian Test team is reportedly becoming vulnerable with the likes of Sam Konstas and Cameron Green breathing down his neck following the World Test Championship (WTC) final defeat at Lord's. Coach Andrew McDonald acknowledged the importance of establishing a solid opening combination, emphasising Labuschagne's potential due to his age and past performance. However, McDonald noted that Labuschagne has been struggling to achieve significant scores recently, leading to concerns about his future in the team.

"It was a big discussion leading into this Test match and I was on the record a couple of weeks ago talking about the need to bed down that opening combination," head coach Andrew McDonald said as per cricinfo.

"He's a big part of the future of the team," McDonald said. "Anyone that averages 45, 46 in Test cricket at that age is important. We've got older players there that are closer to the end than the start. We've got some younger players that are coming in.

"If he can get his game in good order for the next four or five years, he can underpin that batting order. But at the moment, he'd be disappointed with the returns. He's missed out on big scores. But we're confident that he could return to his best and hence why we keep picking him. And at what point do we stop picking him?

"I think most players across their journey get dropped at some point in time. I think he had a positive week here where he worked on the right things and had a great prep. There's no harder worker than Marnus. Now it's really just about the returns. And at the moment, as I said, he'd be disappointed.".

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