Recently, Ricky Ponting has been outspoken about the necessity of firing Labuschagne. The former Australia captain raised serious concerns about Labuschagne’s incapacity to score efficiently off the back foot during the second Test match against Bangladesh, pointing out that the batsman had averaged just 24 since his previous Test century in 2023.
Despite a challenging run of form, Marnus Labuschagne was kept at number three in Cricket Australia’s 16-man selection for the Test tour of South Africa on September 7. Matthew Kuhnemann, Michael Neser, and Cooper Connolly were also on the team. Labuschagne was left out of six ODIs before to the Test series and only managed to score 1, 31, and 4 in his three innings against Bangladesh.
Since July 2023, Labuschagne has averaged 24.69 in 43 Test innings without scoring a century. George Bailey, the chair of the selection committee, expressed the selectors’ desire for the 32-year-old hitter to score more runs.
Australia decided to keep him for the three-Test tour, which will take place in Durban from October 9 to 13, Gqeberha from October 18 to 22, and Cape Town from October 27 to 31, despite these difficulties.
Ricky Ponting support for Connolly’s choice
Australia’s choice to include Cooper Connolly in the roster delighted Ricky Ponting. Strong Sheffield Shield numbers shouldn’t be the only requirement for selection, in his opinion, but talent should also be given more weight.
