Marnus Labuschagne could be dropped for the first time in nearly six years with speculation surfacing that he could be out of Australia’s line-up for Thursday’s second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.
Labuschagne was a notable absentee from the top-order batters at the Australian team’s net session on Tuesday, bowling off-spinners while Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Alex Carey and Cooper Connolly had a hit.
If he has missed the cut, Sam Konstas will not be replacing him in the team as he has been sent home to play for NSW in Saturday’s Sheffield Shield match against Queensland in Brisbane.
Renowned as one of the most dedicated trainers in the nets, Labuschagne nearly always bats alongside his fellow top-order batters.
Cricbuzz journalist Bharat Sundaresan, who has a reputation for predicting team changes when teams vary their pre-game routines, posted on X that he was intrigued that Labuschagne was not hitting in his usual spot at Australia’s main batting session.
In another pointer to the possibility that Labuschagne could be out of the game-day line-up for Thursday’s second match, he then batted at the end of the session with reserve batter Nathan McSweeney to face extended squad members Scott Boland and Sean Abbott.
He was then facing local spinners and Australian bowling coach Dan Vettori rather than Australia’s front-line tweakers.
Labuschagne has made only one century in his last 49 Test knocks and holds an average of 31.6 since the start of 2023, but did ton up in the second Test in Galle in 2022.
The other Aussie batters concentrated on facing spin while Labuschagne faced the pace bowlers.
Sri Lanka are likely to field at least three spinners again in the second fixture as they try to bounce back after their record-breaking loss by an innings and 242 runs last week.
The Australians are likely to confirm on Wednesday whether or not Labuschagne has been retained after a horror run with the bat for more than a year.
If he is left out, it appears Connolly could be given a Test debut after being a surprise inclusion in the squad after just four first-class matches.
The young Western Australian left-hander could slot in lower in the middle order with Steve Smith moving up to first drop and Josh Inglis, after his century on debut last week, batting at four with Travis Head remaining at opener alongside Khawaja.
Connolly bowled extensively in the nets on Tuesday and is a left-armer like Matthew Kuhnemann, Australia’s leading wicket-taker in the series opener, while McSweeney could also possibly get a recall in the middle order.
Konstas won’t be playing after packing his bags to fly back to Australia in the evening following Tuesday’s training session in Galle, Cricket Australia confirmed..
CA determined the 19-year-old would be better served lining up for NSW against Queensland from Saturday at the Gabba – a Test venue at which he has never played – than watching from the sidelines in Galle.
Australia will have adequate concussion substitutes in Konstas’s absence, with 15 remaining in the squad as well as development player Tanveer Sangha.
The tour was Konstas’s first with the Australian squad to Asia, but he previously attended development camps in Chennai and Sri Lanka.
Cooper Connolly bats for Australia A. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
He may have an additional opportunity to hone his skills against spin with an Australia A tour of India in the works for later in 2025.
After his famous start to life as a Test player, the Sri Lanka tour may have shaped as underwhelming for Konstas, who missed selection and was then struck down by a stomach bug.
“It’s been about understanding what works in these conditions, and hopefully I can emulate that after I get back to Sydney. Understanding your strengths and trying to do it for as long as possible in these conditions,” he told The Age.
“It’s been a huge honour being in the squad and learning from the likes of Travis Head, Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, the way they go about it. And obviously having experience in the Asian continent in Dubai.”
Head expected Konstas would return to the top of the batting order when Australia travelled to England for the World Test Championship Final against South Africa in June – barring selection pressure from recent debutant Josh Inglis and Cameron Green, who is set to recover in time from his back injury in time to bat.
Marnus Labuschagne in Galle. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)
“Most likely I’ll go back in the middle order and Sam will open,” Head said.
“Josh has had an amazing start, guys are playing well, Greeny’s going to be fit. It’s going to be hard to fit in.”
“Most likely I’ll go back in the middle order and Sam will open,” the usual No.5 said.
Head on Wednesday said he can’t see himself ever opening the batting in Australian conditions despite another great innings at the top of the order on the subcontinent.
Head vindicated the big selection call to drop Konstas for the first Sri Lanka Test, whacking a half-century off only 35 balls and helping set the tone for a dominant Australian win.
“It was not by design to go out and score as quickly as I did,” said Head, who was eventually caught in the deep on 57.
“It was the same mindset: If they present an opportunity to score, I want to score.”
The innings continued an impressive recent run of form on the subcontinent for Head, once considered too incompetent against spin to be selected at all in Asia.
Since his reinvention as the Australian batting order’s aggressor-in-chief, Head has averaged 56 at the top across the 2023 India tour and the ongoing Sri Lanka series.
Australia’s regular No.5 is set to remain there when the second match of the series begins in Galle on Thursday, with the team hunting a 2-0 series whitewash
But Head expects it is unlikely he would ever face the new ball in seaming conditions, even with Khawaja’s retirement expected in the coming years.
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Head pointed out Steve Smith, Nathan McSweeney and now Konstas had all been considered ahead of him in the 12 months since legendary opener David Warner retired.
“It feels like the middle order is the spot in Australia for me,” said Head.
“As long as I can keep being consistent in that position and keep trying to do as well as I can, that’s great but it’s probably unlikely that I would (open) in Australia with where we’ve been in the last two years.”
with AAP