Australia omit Marnus Labuschagne from Test squad for New Zealand series

Australia selectors confirmed on Monday that Marnus Labuschagne has been omitted from the yet-to-be-named squad for the first Test against New Zealand, whose series opens in Perth on 9 December.

George Bailey, chairman of selectors, said the panel had made an early decision to exclude the out-of-form batter and would not consider him for the entire four-Test series against New Zealand, but left the door open for a recall on subsequent tours to India and England. “This gives him a little bit of space and clears up a bit of conjecture ... and we’ll pick the rest of that squad at the end of round four of Sheffield Shield,” Bailey told reporters. “It’s still possible [he will be recalled after the trans-Tasman Test series], absolutely. He’s always been an incredible performer at first-class level. So I expect that’ll be the case.

Labuschagne’s recent slump followed an early run of form that included 10 centuries from his first 33 Tests and an average of 59.43 when he rose to be the world’s top-ranked batter. A difficult tour of South Africa produced scores of 0, 4, 14, 39, 37 and 37, extending a sequence to 49 innings without a Test century, and he was briefly left out for last year’s tour of the West Indies.

After that omission he returned to domestic cricket and scored two centuries for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield, which propelled him back into the side for the home Ashes; the 32-year-old will resume leading Queensland in the Shield as he seeks to regain form. Bailey said the selectors had made the move partly to remove uncertainty around Labuschagne’s place: the panel had acted to “put Labuschagne out of his misery.”

Bailey also addressed Labuschagne’s recent output directly. “We all know how good and how effective Marnus can be at his best, but that performance hasn’t been there,” he said. “He’s pragmatic, he knows that the fundamental nature of being a batter in the top six is to score runs and that just hasn’t happened.”

Selectors will finalise the remainder of the New Zealand squad at the end of round four of the Sheffield Shield, and the option of recalling Labuschagne for the tours to India and England remains available according to Bailey’s comments.