Marnus Labuschagne He is currently struggling to regain his level but the Australian coach Andrew Macdonald He insists the No.3 position in the team is safe. Labuschagne averaged just 6.33 in his four innings Two-Test series against West Indies Its average this summer is currently its lowest level since 2018/19.
However, MacDonald says Labuschagne and the rest of the top six are safe for the next tour of New Zealand, and insists there is huge confidence in the team that has won the World Test Championship, retained the Ashes and won four out of five. Home Tests this summer “We're not in the mood to change the batting order,” he said.
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“We feel as a group that this unit will be able to achieve success in many Test matches, and we will let that happen… We see our batting unit as a collective unit. There will be people within that unit who fail at times and people who succeed.” We feel as if this system complements each other and we should be able to navigate through most situations. “
MacDonald also believes Labuschagne's overall testing record indicates he is falling behind on some big scores. “We have complete confidence and belief in the way he approaches his preparations and his roles,” MacDonald said.
“He's been held back by certain plans at times, so there's no doubt he'll look into that. He'll get busy and get back to work. There's no doubt you'll go through some lulls…but we expect him to recover.”
However, attention is firmly on Labuschagne's form as his Test batting average has dropped worryingly from 60 to 50 in the last 12 months. The No. 3 has also scored just one century in his last 18 Test matches and has only crossed the half-century mark on six other occasions. Despite the external vote of confidence from his coach, some fans believe his position is under threat.
100% mate.
If we are not winning he will be under pressure.
He doesn't deserve to be automatically selected anymore
– Big Rick (@BigRick555) January 27, 2024
At 51.41, this is the lowest average Marnus Labuschagne has reached in tests since the start of Marnus' summer in 2019. #AusvWI
– Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) January 27, 2024
No one is talking about Marnus Labuschagne failing the test
– Abhishek (@Abhi_Kohli123) January 26, 2024
*Whispers* We'll talk about Marnus Labuschagne's poor form at some point, won't we?
– Pat McCaffrie (@PatMcCaffrie) January 26, 2024
Andrew MacDonald says the side should take positives from the West Indies defeat
The Australian coach says that despite the shock loss to the West Indies, there were a lot of positives to be taken from the match. Steve Smith's unbeaten 91 in the second innings of his second Test at the top of the order was a highlight, as was a powerful 42 by new No. 4 Cameron Green before being undone by a Jaffa from man of the match Shamar Joseph.
“I think if you watch his innings at Shield level and at international level, he can start slowly, and that's something we're working on,” MacDonald said. “It takes him a while to get his movements in sync sometimes…but once he gets up and moving well, it's quite a sight.”
– With August
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