Marnus Labuschagne as opener may be last chance to rescue his Test career, as Australia’s ‘musical openers’ gets old
A detailed radio interview has given an insight into the mindset of Australian men’s cricket coach Andrew McDonald and the conundrum of Australia’s Test openers.
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If Marnus Labuschagne survives to play as an opener in the WTC Final it may be his last chance to save his Test career, with coach Andrew McDonald declaring Australia is sick of playing ‘musical openers.’
A one-on-one shootout is looming between Labuschagne and teenage tyro Sam Konstas for the right to open alongside Usman Khawaja against South Africa at Lord’s on June 11.
In a detailed interview with Gerard Whateley on SEN, McDonald confirmed the merits of switching Labuschagne from No.3 to open had been discussed by selectors, but also revealed Konstas has made technical changes as he bids to reclaim his place at the top of the order.
McDonald said selectors are yet to lock in a final decision, but it’s clear Labuschagne is hanging by a thread because selectors are sick of fiddling around with openers and are invested in trying to “accelerate” Konstas’ development into a Test star.
Asked by Whateley if he was keen to have Konstas at least in the team by the away series against the West Indies which follows the WTC Final, McDonald said that is when selectors would want certainty over who is opening with Khawaja for the Ashes.
“In a perfect world, we want to settle down the opening combination,” McDonald said on SEN.
“So we want to have a direction around what that looks like and we want that combination to gel and work at the top of the order.
“We had some moving parts last summer. It’s not ideal in particular for Usman so in an ideal world, we want a combination where you go, ‘that’s our opening combination for the next period of time.’
“… In Australia we’d love a settled combination and we’re on a journey to getting that, so we’ll see how we go.”
After experimenting with Steve Smith as an opener last year, Australia then turned to Nathan McSweeney and Konstas during the summer before a horses-for-courses call to open with Travis Head in Sri Lanka.
If Labuschagne is given a chance in the WTC Final to salvage his place as the fifth opener tried in nine Tests and succeeds on first attempt, it could then present selectors with a complicated problem on how to get Konstas into the XI ahead of the Ashes.
But an Australian top six that’s hard to get into is a good problem to have and if Labuschagne at age 30 and with 11 Test centuries to his name does find form, that will be crucial in the inevitable transition that is looming at the top of the order with Khawaja 38 years of age and Steve Smith turning 36 next week.
McDonald said there was also still a world where Labuschagne and Konstas could fit into the same WTC top six.
That’s if conditions are so green at Lord’s that selectors feel all-rounder Beau Webster’s bowling skills are surplus to requirements and that the four frontline bowlers can get the 20 wickets required, paving the way for Konstas, Labuschagne and Cameron Green to all fit into the top order.
Green is a lock following his three English county centuries and looks likely to fit in at No.3, with McDonald confirming Smith would remain at No.4.
McDonald praised Konstas for his work at a training camp in Brisbane over the past couple of weeks and reinforced his belief that the NSW right-hander has a big future in Test cricket.
“He’s got so many different layers. We’ve seen the game he can play at that explosive end which was the entertainment on Boxing Day which captured a nation and really set up that Test match,” McDonald said.
“We’ve seen some other innings where he can be quite conservative, and a really good defensive player as well. He’s discovering what he is as well.
“It’s a little bit like Cameron Green. When you get exposed to Test cricket really early, you’re learning on the go, and it’s a tough environment to learn in.
“He’s got a long way to go, there’s no doubt about that, to be the finished player that he wants to be and we see he possibly can be.
“He’s made some technical changes as well in the winter.
“Any time you get a gap and you want to invest back into your game there are some technical nuances you embark upon, so he feels as though they’re in a good place at the moment.
“The last couple of weeks in Brisbane he’s been going well.
“It’s been tough conditions up there with the Duke’s ball and overheads and seaming conditions, so he’s got a great future ahead of him. He’s on a journey. I think (National Selector) George Bailey said that – to discover what is the best version of himself and we hope that we can accelerate that across the journey.”
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