Marnus Labuschagne’s form for Brisbane could cost Joe Burns his Heat spot
After Marnus Labuschagne spent his summer destroying Pakistan and New Zealand, and earning an ODI call-up, Joe Burns is looking over his shoulder for his Big Bash berth.
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The meteoric rise of Marnus Labuschagne could be felt by one of his Test teammates with Joe Burns fighting to save his spot at the Brisbane Heat.
Labuschagne will make his first Big Bash appearance of the summer in Thursday night’s blockbuster clash against Steve Smith’s Sydney Sixers at the Gabba.
Labuschagne has been Australia’s success story of the summer, whacking 896 runs in five Tests against Pakistan and New Zealand before earning a one-day international call-up.
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Despite only returning from India on Tuesday morning, Labuschagne will be rushed into the battling Heat’s line-up.
The Heat are desperate to bounce back after suffering a humiliating 44-run defeat to the last-placed Renegades on Sunday night, which included a BBL record collapse of 10-36.
Heat coach Darren Lehmann said Labuschagne would bat in the middle order, leaving Burns as the most likely player to drop out of the 11.
All-rounder Ben Cutting is also a potential omission, however his bowling and big-hitting gives him an edge.
After an up-and-down Test summer, Burns has averaged 16 in five BBL matches and Lehmann said there was a chance he could be dropped.
“Joe will be in consideration, we’ll sum it up,” he said.
“Joe could have opened the batting the other night but we went with Sam (Heazlett) and he did a good job (scoring 56 from 37).
“We’ll have to sum up what the best make-up is for this game.
“Marnus will definitely play. I see him in the middle order so we’ll have to work out who misses out. Someone is going to be unlucky.”
The Heat were criticised heavily following the Renegades debacle, with captain Chris Lynn labelling the performance “piss poor”.
Batting collapses have been the story of the Heat’s summer, and previous tournaments, and Lehmann said they were trying to rectify it.
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“It’s happened a couple of times – there’s no shying away from it,” he said. “We’ve been up and down for a long period of time.
“We’re trying to strive for consistency. That’s a great challenge for the playing group, to get that consistency all the time.
“It’s about us getting better in the pressure situations and making sure guys who are in stay in for longer and put the pressure back on the bowlers.
“We’ve done that well in a couple of games and not-so-well in a couple of games.”
The Heat are sitting sixth on the BBL ladder with three games to play before the finals, which will be contested by the top five teams.
After tonight’s final home game, the Heat head to Melbourne for matches against the Stars (Saturday) and Renegades (Monday).
Originally published as Marnus Labuschagne’s form for Brisbane could cost Joe Burns his Heat spot