Cricket news: Marnus Labuschagne misses selection for first ODI against Zimbabwe
Who needs batsmen? Australia is trending towards an ODI team which prioritises versatility over specialty in a bad sign for Marnus Labuschagne’s prospects.
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Batsmen look like an endangered species these days with Australia opting to leave Marnus Labuschagne out of the side to take on Zimbabwe in the first of three ODIs this Sunday.
In fact, after the openers there’s room for only one single origin specialist and that’s Labuschagne’s friend, mentor and soul mate Steve Smith.
Aaron Finch revealed on Saturday that wicket keeper Alex Carey will slot into the fourth batting position, followed by Marcus Stoinis, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Greene.
“We are just going with an all rounder heavy side, so we’ve got two quicks plus (Adam) Zampa, plus Cameron Green as the fourth genuine bowler and then using Marsh, Stoinis and Maxwell as our fifth bowler effectively,” Finch said.
“It’s a way of lengthening our batting and I think its important that we keep juggling the structure of the team over the next little while, we don’t want to get pigeon holed into a particular structure of team.
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“There’ll be a bit of mixing and matching of the structure, whether we go with two spinners and two quicks and lessen the load on the all rounders, we’ll see.
“We’ll also like to look for some continuity as well.”
Australia has three ODIs against Zimbabwe in Townsville before moving on for three more against New Zealand in Cairns.
Finch said it was a “no-brainer” to put Smith at first drop, saying “since 2017 he averages 55 at a strike rate in the 90s batting at three”.
The surprising thing is Smith has played just two 50 over games since the series against India in November-December 2020.
In his absence Mitch Marsh has batted at three.
Smith scored quick fire centuries in two of the three games against India and a half century in one of the matches against Sri Lanka.
The Australians are looking ahead to next year’s World Cup in India and will look to experiment a little in the six games.
You may see the all round bowlers coming on a lot earlier than previously.
The match, at the tiny Riverway Stadium on the outskirts of Townsville is a rare treat for the locals who have never seen the Australian men play an international.
The game will feature a tribute to Andrew Symonds who was raised in nearby Charters Towers.
Symonds’ dogs Buzz and Woody will walk with his two children, Billy and Chloe, to lay his baggy green cap, cricket bat and Akubra hat during the innings break.
The brilliant all rounder died in a car crash in May. The dogs survived the accident.
Finch worked in commentary with Symonds at Fox Cricket.
“What he did as a player was remarkable, he was someone who put bums on seats, he was box office with bat and on the field, a really sad time for Australia and obviously for cricket over the last little while,” Finch said.
“It will be nice to have his family here.
“I didn’t play against him, I commentated quite a bit with him over the years at Fox and it was always a lot of fun, there was some great banter there, for someone who was so laid back his depth of knowledge of cricketers and players as well, the larrikin tag was there but the deep knowledge was there.”
Zimbabwe’s side are still feeling the effects of jet lag after flying in on Thursday and while captain Regis Chakabva believes they will be rested up by Sunday he admits there were a few players asleep on the bus returning to town after training.
Zimbabwe almost jumped India in the side’s last ODI encounter with batting sensation Sikander Raza scoring another century in the format.
The 36-year-old was part of the side that beat Australia eight years ago in Harare.
ARE PARTNERS IN CRIME FIGHTING FOR SAME WC SPOT?
Ben Horne
Marnus Labuschagne is adamant he’s not in a direct shootout with his other half Steve Smith for one spot in Australia’s 50-over World Cup team.
The pair of quirky batting geniuses have bonded over their similarities at Test level but often one-day cricket demands a greater variety of personnel in the top six as Australia begins to settle on a blueprint for reclaiming white ball cricket’s most sought-after prize in India in 12 months’ time.
In the 2015 World Cup, which Australia won on home soil, selectors couldn’t fit George Bailey into the same batting line-up as Michael Clarke, despite Bailey’s outstanding ODI record and the fact he was the team’s standby leader when the captain wasn’t fit.
However, despite white ball batting moving more and more towards power hitting, Labuschagne believes the current Australian top order is big enough for both him and Smith to thrive and their “chemistry” is potentially a key ingredient for the country’s Cup hopes.
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After an interrupted couple of years of 50-over cricket, the dynamic duo of Labuschagne and Smith is now out to prove it in Australia’s back-to-back ODI series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand in Townsville starting on Sunday.
“No, I certainly don’t think we’re playing for one spot. Obviously Steve has had a few injuries in the past few months so we haven’t had the opportunity to actually bat together in that middle order too much,” Labuschagne told News Corp.
“It’s certainly one where I think if you look at us batting in the middle, we’ve got chemistry.
“We play really well off each other and we’re able to play that high intensity game.
“It probably doesn’t look the same as if you’ve got a big hitter in who might be going at 10 through the middle … but with Steve and I having a bit more of that touch type game I think it’s really effective through the middle and hopefully we can have more opportunities in trying to grow that middle-order position together.”
On the recent ODI tour of Sri Lanka, Labuschagne and Smith played two matches together – Smith at three and Labuschagne at No. 5 – but that was with Mitchell Marsh out of the side and Travis Head called in.
For this series against Zimbabwe, Head is out due to the birth of his first child, and so Smith and Labuschagne should get a crack at combining their powers in the middle-order.
With the exception of Test captain Pat Cummins being rested and Head, Australia has named a full-strength squad to take on Zimbabwe and New Zealand in far north Queensland.
Labuschagne scored a breakout ODI hundred against South Africa literally days before the pandemic broke out in Australia in 2020 and so has barely had any continuity in the format since.
The 28-year-old wants to make it count in Townsville and Cairns over the next fortnight.
“It’s just one of those formats I haven’t played much if at all in the last bit. I obviously played the three games in Pakistan and then the five in Sri Lanka, but prior to that my last game was a year before,” he said.
“I’m always looking to improve my game – that’s in every format. For me in one-day cricket, it’s just about really understanding that role and bringing high intensity through the middle overs. Running hard and making sure I’m putting the bowlers under pressure through those middle overs.
“I think that’s my strength and for me it’s just about making sure I can do that come the first one-dayer on Sunday.
“The opportunity to have nine games in this next block (including three against England in November) is going to be really big.
“I’ve got to understand my role better. Get better at playing that role and just helping the team win games and make sure we’re consistently doing that.”
Labuschagne also plans to use the block of one-day cricket to improve his leg-spin bowling.
He wants to work at being a legitimate 4-over option in Twenty20 cricket and an all-rounder capable of bowling a few overs in 50-over matches so he’s adding an extra string to his bow.
That will be particularly important for a 50-over World Cup to be played in India next October.
Hazlewood ready for ODI homecoming
— Phil Dillon
Josh Hazlewood says Australia will look to hit the ground running in Townsville despite not having played a One-Day International on home soil since December 2020.
Hazlewood is in the 14-man squad for the three-match ODI series with Zimbabwe which is starting at Riverway Stadium on Sunday, the first time Australia has played an international in the city.
The 31-year-old was part of the team which lost to India by 13 runs at Manuka Oval, Canberra, in the last ODI Down Under and said the team cannot wait to get back into white-ball action on home soil.
“It’s been a long time, so Sunday will be good fun,” Hazlewood said.
“I think a lot of boys are keen to get out there again to play this format.
“It’s been a long time, so it’s exciting.”
Hazlewood said the players would have an eye on next year’s World Cup in India and said preparations for that would begin in earnest from Sunday.
“We haven’t played a great deal of one-day cricket,” he said.
“Now it’s time to identify how we’re going to play the game.
“We need to work on what combinations we’re going to go with.
“It will be different conditions in India where the World Cup is we’ll start it (preparations) here.”
Australia has named a strong squad for the three matches in Townsville, with three more to follow in Cairns.
Test skipper Pat Cummins is the only major absentee from the squad and Hazlewood said he and fellow pace bowler Mitchell Starc were ready to take on the extra responsibility.
“Paddy is having a rest,” he said.
“Starcy and I are used to that. Fast bowlers in white ball cricket have resting periods and we will be fine.”
This is the first time the East African nation has toured this country since 2003-04 and Australia has not played Zimbabwe since a three-wicket defeat in Harare in 2014.
Hazlewood said he had not seen much of Zimbabwe but said the bowling group would be working hard on preparation ahead of Sunday’s opening game.
“I have seen the numbers of the last few games in the last series,” he said.
“We’ll sit down as bowlers and have a look as we always do.
“For the teams we don’t play often, we will have a more in-depth look and go through some numbers and come up with some plans.”
Zimbabwe defeated Bangladesh 2-1 in a three-match campaign on home soil earlier this month before losing a series by the same scoreline just before heading Down Under.
Sikandar Raza scored 115 as they fell short by just 13 runs in the last game of the series and Hazlewood said they would be prepared for a tough challenge.
“You can’t take any teams lightly these days in international cricket,” he said.
“They’re playing a lot of cricket and a lot of competitive cricket. We’ll be ready.
“We’ve just seen them play India and they nearly got India in their last game.
“The confidence is right up for them and half our team’s coming off a break and the other half is coming from the 100 (tournament in England).
“We will try and hit the ground running as best we can. The next few days are important again in prep and we’ll go from there.”
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