Marnus Labuschagne’s way back into Ashes contention revealed as selectors lock in Usman Khawaja
Dumped for the tour of the West Indies, Marnus Labuschagne could be back as soon as the first Ashes Test, with the Australian coach declaring they are ‘open to all options.’
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Marnus Labuschagne could return as early as the first Ashes Test while Sam Konstas has dropped back into the pack but Usman Khawaja remains all but assured of a start in Perth.
Again stressing that early-season Sheffield Shield output would play a greater role in shaping Australia’s Ashes lineup than performances in the West Indies, Australian coach Andrew McDonald argued that conditions during the pink-ball win in Jamaica “at times didn’t even look like cricket” which made it hard to judge how players had performed with the bat.
Notwithstanding the tricky wickets, teen opener Konstas’s return to the Test arena did not reap the desired returns, with the youngster making just 50 runs from six innings in the Caribbean. Acknowledging the difficult wickets encountered across the series, McDonald said Konstas would play for Australia again, but would not guarantee him a place in the Ashes side.
“I think it leaves him where everyone else is in terms of Shield cricket at the start of the season, we’re not going to shy away from the fact that will be big for certain individuals to go about their work, put some scores on the board, and, and then for us to look at what we need against England as well,” McDonald told SEN’s The New Ball.
“And that’s always a nuanced conversation around the opponent, around Perth, first Test match, getting that right, what’s a combination that top order. And sometimes you feel like you get it right, and then other times you have to make changes mid-series, which we did last year. So we’re open to all options in terms of the way that we’re going to stack that up. And with that comment, it’s probably going to create even more debate as to what’s happening, but we see him as a player that we’ll be using going forward. It will just be a matter of when.”
Khawaja, 38, performed better than his opening partner but still averaged less than 20 across the three Tests in the Windies after twin failures in the World Test Championship final.
But McDonald said Khawaja’s experience and ability to absorb pressure left him very much in the plans for the Ashes.
“Yeah, we see him playing a part during the summer. He his ability to navigate through tricky situations across the journey, he’s got great experience. We still feel as though he’s moving well. Feels like I’m having a repeat conversation around David Warner when we went through exactly the same conversation, but the way he’s moving, the method he applies, he’s very repeatable.
“So we know, we know what we’re getting there. We feel as though that will match up well against England, and then it’ll just be about the output of runs like it is anyone. And those runs weren’t here, and there’s a reason why those runs weren’t here. It was incredibly difficult. And he got 47 in the first Test match. And even that was sort of critiqued, as though he’s not doing enough, but in the context of that game, once again, it was a sizeable score. So it’s really difficult to make accurate judgments on both batting units based upon the services we played on. And you take that into the third Test, which is a pink ball Dukes on that surface, and that game just moved way too fast, and at times didn’t even look like cricket. So if you can give me a good form line on what that looks like for the first test in Perth, and you’re a better man than I.”
Labuschagne was dropped after the WTC final, allowing Konstas to return to the top of the order. The Queensland skipper remained with the Aussies throughout the Test series despite discussions around him being released early to play for either Australia A or Glamorgan.
McDonald said Labuschagne’s time in the nets had been beneficial and that Labuschagne could bat anywhere in the top six and did not need to open for the Bulls to do so at Test level.
“He’d be in the mix anywhere. And Marnus has had a really good training block, done a lot of work with Matthew Wade. And I think the benefit of being removed out of Test cricket, gives you time to reflect and really get clear on how you’re going to go about it. And I think towards the end there, and Marn won’t mind me saying this, that there was a little bit of going backward and forward on plans, and that at certain stages wasn’t clear.
“He’s got great clarity leaving here. Albeit he hasn’t played a game here, but we feel as though it’s been a really successful tour for him and look forward to what he does coming into the early Shield rounds, and then putting his hand up for selection for Perth in that first Test. But he’s a quality player. He averages 46 in Test match cricket. We feel as though this wasn’t going to be a huge gap before he does return because of the quality, but the start of the Shield season will really shape that.”
Meanwhile, McDonald said that Mitchell Starc would join fellow paceman Pat Cummins in missing the white-ball matches against South Africa in August to prepare for the summer. Josh Hazlewood will however be part of that Top End series.
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