Australia’s No.3 Test batter Marnus Labuschagne is confident of returning to the red-ball setup after being sidelined for the forthcoming home Test against New Zealand, which will commence on Wednesday, December 9, in Perth.
On Monday, November 9, Australian chairman of selectors George Bailey confirmed Labuschagne wouldn’t be considered for Test selection after his poor run of scores on the recent South African Test tour.
“I’ve got no doubt I will be back there. When? Who knows. I think my path back into the Australian team will work itself out. I’ve done it before. It’s something that I truly want,” Labuschagne told reporters.
Labuschagne managed only 131 runs at an average of 21.83, with a high of 39, across three Tests in South Africa. Interestingly, the top-order batter has now gone 49 Test innings without a century to his name.
“(Six) scores above 30 in 11 innings is not someone who’s not batting well,” Labuschagne added.
“It’s someone who’s making mistakes when they’re in, and a lot of those mistakes potentially coming from the pressure of having to keep scoring runs and being on the verge of losing my spot,” he noted.
“Some of those dismissals (in South Africa) feel like they’ve come from a lack of clarity on potentially what the team needed and my own personal battle with scoring runs and missing out,” he concluded.
For the unversed, Labuschagne’s omission is the second time in 17 months that he has been left out of Australia’s Test plans. He was previously axed for the three-Test tour of the West Indies in 2025.
NZ vs AUS Test series schedule:
First Test: December 9-13, Perth
Second Test: December 17-21, Adelaide
Third Test: December 26-30, Melbourne
Fourth Test: January 4-8, Sydney
