Courtesy: CA
Andrew McDonald, the head coach of Australia, has backed Marnus Labuschagne after his tough outing as a makeshift opener in the World Test Championship (WTC) final 2025 against South Africa at the Lord’s in London. The right-handed batter, who is 30 years of age, scored 17 and 22 at a relatively slower pace for Australia in the WTC final 2025, and following a tough last year-and-a-half, he is now facing intense scrutiny not only from the fans, but also the experts in regards to his spot in the Test side.
After being one of the most in-form batters in the WTC 2021-23 cycle for Australia, which ended with his team defeating India in the final at The Oval in London two years ago, Marnus Labuschagne has struggled for consistency as well as tempo in his play as a Test batter. Since the beginning of 2024, he has a poor average of 26.71 in 13 Test matches with the bat in hand, which has led to his overall average slumping into the mid-40s after being in the 50s for the first five years of his career.
Anyone that averages 45 or 46 in Test cricket at that age is important: McDonald on Labuschagne
While speaking to the media about Marnus Labuschagne’s recent run in Test cricket, Andrew McDonald was on the defensive, especially after slotting him to open the batting in the WTC final 2025. He was quoted as saying, as per Cricbuzz, “He's a big part of the future of the team. Anyone that averages 45 or 46 in Test cricket at that age is important. We've got older players who are closer to the end than the start. We've got some younger players that are coming in, and you definitely want those guys that have, I think, 60-odd Test matches.”
“If he can get his game in good order for the next four or five years, he can underpin that batting order. But at the moment, he'd be disappointed with the returns. He's missed out on big scores. He threatened at the MCG, got a pair of 70s, and, you know, if they had been a pair of hundreds, the conversation shifts as well. But we're confident that he could return to his best, and hence (that is) why we keep picking him. It is at what point do we stop picking him?,” remarked Andrew McDonald, referring to how it’s important for Marnus Labuschagne to convert starts into big scores like before in Test cricket.
Moreover, the Australian head coach was happy about how the right-handed batter prepared and shaped up in the WTC final 2025, and it will keep him in good stead in the coming months, starting with the West Indies Test tour later this month.
