Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Two days before Australia’s series-deciding Test at Cape Town, Marnus Labuschagne offered a glimpse into his current state of mind.
It came not in words, but in Australia’s main training session at Cape Town.
After not batting in the first group, Labuschagne was edged off by each of Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland and Beau Webster in a 25-minute net session.
Beyond the nicks, Labuschagne was also not himself as questions circled about his future.
There was no arguing over the dismissals, or if he would have been out in a match as is usually the case with every nets appeal against Labuschagne.
Instead, he appeared a man low on confidence after 47 Test innings without a century and a long run of unconverted starts.
The next morning, chief selector George Bailey was questioned by media over why the right-hander had been able to keep his spot for so long while averaging 30.
“I don’t think I’m in a position to defend the performance,” Bailey said
“But in terms of the collective, there’s been times where the time he’s spent in the middle has helped.”
Labuschagne has been dropped before. He was left out for last year’s series in the West Indies, before banging the door down with bulk Sheffield Shield runs.
Ultimately, Labuschagne held his spot for Cape Town, even before Steve Smith’s neck injury opened the door for the return of Josh Inglis.
But when the 32-year-old walked out to bat on Wednesday, he looked much like the man he was in the nets on Sunday.
He pushed at a few balls off Simon Harmer, then went back to one he should have come forward to and edged the spinner to slip for a duck.
“That is the pressure the selectors have put him under for an extended period of time,” former Test player Simon Katch said on SEN’s commentary.
“They put him in this situation by not making the decision to give him a breather and make the circuit-breaker decision.
“Everyone has been talking about it, they refused to do it. And I actually feel for him because I have been through it and it’s not pleasant.”
There is an argument Labuschagne would have been gone already if this was a home series with more options at hand.
Now, he is almost certain to go for the first Test against New Zealand in Perth in six weeks time.
Inglis’s unbeaten 85 on Wednesday, as Australia reached 4-330, means he will likely keep his spot in the XI when Smith returns, squeezing out Labuschagne.
Sam Konstas, Kurtis Patterson, Ollie Peake and Nathan McSweeney are other options, particularly if they are preferred over Cooper Connolly.
Ideally, Labuschagne will still be the man to help lead Australia’s batting into the next era.
There is good reason the selectors had hoped for that, given he averaged more than 60 across his first 30 Tests and was the world’s No.1 ranked batter.
But it is clear he needs time in the Shield to sort out his batting, and mind, before the next chance comes.
