Aussie cricket selectors drop bombshell with veteran Marnus Labuschagne DROPPED for tour of West Indies
Australia 's selectors have made their biggest call in recent memory, dropping Marnus Labuschagne from the top order and replacing him with Sam Konstas.
Chief selector George Bailey confirmed on Friday (AEDT) that Labuschagne would miss next week's first Test against the West Indies.
Steve Smith will also miss the match as he recovers from his dislocated finger, with medical staff to assess him ahead of the second Test.
Josh Inglis will come into the XI, while it's expected Konstas will open.
Australia will unveil their batting order and bowling attack closer to the start of the first Test next Wednesday.
But it is the decision to drop Labuschagne that will be the biggest talking point since Bailey took over as chief selector in 2021.
The Queenslander has been battling for form over a long period and battled during the recent World Test Championship final
Labuschagne was the top-ranked Test batter in the world as recently as two years ago, but has averaged just 27.82 for the past 12 months.
He was moved from his regular spot at No.3 to open in the World Test Championship final loss to South Africa last week, for returns of 17 and 22.
'Marnus at his best can be a really important member of this team. He understands his output hasn't been at the level we, or he, expects,' Bailey said in a statement.
'We will continue working with him on the areas of his game we feel he needs to rediscover.
'We continue to value his skill and expect him to work through the challenge positively.'
Konstas's recall comes after he was left out of the team for Sri Lanka, following the teenager's high-profile start to Test life with a half-century on debut on Boxing Day against India.
Selectors opted to go with Travis Head at the top of the order in Galle, given their preference to have him open on spinning wickets.
But that move was only ever temporary, leaving the opening spot free for Labuschagne at Lord's last week and now seemingly Konstas in the West Indies.
Young gun Sam Konstas has been given another chance to impress at the top of the order for the Aussies
Inglis also impressed with a century on debut in Galle in January, before being squeezed out of the side for the Test Championship final.
'Steve needs more time for the wound to heal so we'll give him another week's rest and assess his functionality after that,' Bailey said.
'We have made the decision to give Josh and Sam the opportunity to replace Steve and Marnus.
'We are excited to see them get the chance to further their fledgling Test careers.
'In his only opportunity in Test cricket to date, Josh was outstanding in Sri Lanka, showing great intent and ability to put pressure on the opposition.'
The decision to drop the 30-year-old Labuschagne comes after former coach Justin Langer urged officials to keep him in the side this week, with his experience valuable.
Usman Khawaja is aged 38 and Smith 36, meaning a transition in the top order looms after David Warner's retirement from Test cricket last year.
'He's actually a very, very important link in this chain,' Langer said on Monday.
'You think about the history of Australian cricket. The best young players come in surrounded by absolute guns.
'Michael Clarke, Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn and Matthew Hayden. They come in and they're around gun players.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
26 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Your Guardian Sport weekend: England v India, Club World Cup, tennis and NBA
Day two of the first Test gets under way with Rob Smyth and James Wallace your over-by-over-hosts. India are seeking a first series win in England since 2007, having been held to a 2-2 draw last time out, a garland their new red-ball skipper, Shubman Gill, ranks higher than going all the way in the Indian Premier League. 'You don't get many opportunities as a captain to be able to come to England and you get to have a crack at the IPL every year,' says one of the IPL's poster boys and title winner with Gujarat Giants in 2022. 'In my opinion winning a Test series in England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa is bigger.' Ali Martin, Andy Bull and Simon Burnton are our reporting team at Headingley. 'It's the biggest five days in our sport – our shop window,' says leading jockey William Buick of the glittering five days of Royal Ascot. The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (3.40pm) is the highlight of the sun-baked meeting's final day. Kevin Ryan's Inisherin was a brilliant winner of the Commonwealth Cup over the course and distance 12 months ago while French raider Lazzat won his first six starts for Jerome Reynier and having bolted up back over six furlongs at Chantilly has been snapped up by the powerful Wathnan Racing operation. One to watch is Aidan O'Brien's Australian recruit Storm Boy. Tony Paley keeps the updates flowing with Greg Wood our reporter in top hat and tails at the Berkshire course. Under a broiling sun in west London, conditions have been particularly gruelling as some of the world's leading players gear up for Wimbledon. Top seed and 2023 winner Carlos Alcaraz endured three hours and 23 energy-sapping minutes in beating compatriot Jaume Munar on Thursday. The match may have been two hours shorter than his five-set French Open final win over Jannik Sinner earlier this month but the five-time grand slam champion suffered as temperatures soared to 32C. After a 15th straight win, the longest winning run of his career so far, a near-exhausted Alcaraz admitted: 'It was a really tough battle.' Tumaini Carayol has all the action covered. An unfamiliar England face France for Saturday's non-cap international. There are five uncapped names in Steve Borthwick's makeshift squad, with three set to start as call-ups to Andy Farrell's British & Irish Lions have have given the head coach the chance to experiment. The late addition of Jack van Poortvliet to the Lions party means there will be 14 players unavailable when England run out for the final time before the summer tour to Argentina and the United States. Michael Aylwin reports from Twickenham. The European Under-21 Championship 2023 winners face a rematch with Spain, who they defeated to lift the trophy two years ago. But Lee Carsley's side approach the quarter-final in patchy form having followed up last Sunday's goalless draw with Slovenia with a disappointing 2-1 loss against Germany to round off the group stage. Slovenia's defeat to the Czech Republic in the other match in the group was enough to secure Carsley's side passage to the last-eight tie in Trnava, Slovakia. Will Unwin keeps the updates flowing while Ed Aarons reports. Our columnist considers the cult of personality at the revamped Club World Cup – how the individual walk-outs at the start of matches offer further proof, if any were needed, that Fifa is failing to understand that football remains a team sport – just ask Paris Saint-Germain, who unlocked European success by ditching their superstars. Rob Smyth and Taha Hashim take up the over-by-over baton on day three at Headingley. Win against India in the coming weeks, then reclaim the Ashes in Australia and Ben Stokes would go down as one of his country's greatest skippers, but he is not ready to think in those terms. 'There's always a different buzz coming up against India and Australia in particular, purely because of how big those series are,' he says. 'Away from the dressing room, we know what these series mean compared to other ones. But defining a career as England captain isn't something that I really think about. If that's what I'm really bothered about, it's just completely and utterly selfish and that ain't me.' Tanya Aldred helms our rolling blog and will no doubt be keeping a weather eye on Jofra Archer's exploits for Sussex against Durham. England's paceman has been beset by a litany of injury problems and played the last of his 13 Tests in February 2021. It is hoped he will make his first-class return, part of a plan that could lead to him being restored to Ben Stokes' squad at some point during a five-match series against India. There has been an understandable sense of caution about Archer's latest rehabilitation, which was further delayed by a broken thumb, but the bowler himself has made his own intentions clear – at one stage floating a hurried return in last month's one-off game against Zimbabwe. The Indiana Pacers stormed to a 108-91 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday to level the NBA finals at three games apiece and set up a decisive Game 7 in Oklahoma City in the early hours on Monday. David Lengel will be across all of the action with his live blog on the biggest night in the basketball season. In the small hours, our live coverage of the tournament continues at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta as the holders face Al Ain. City's new signing Tijjani Reijnders will be hoping to build on his impressive debut in the comfortable 2-0 win over Wydad Casablanca in Philadelphia on Wednesday. The Dutchman joined City from Milan last week in a deal worth an initial £46.5m as part of Pep Guardiola's rebuild in response to their disappointing 2024-25 season. Alexander Abnos hosts our minute-by-minute coverage.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
'I was very raw' - Skelton itching for Lions rematch
Australia lock Will Skelton says he has been rewatching footage of taking on the British and Irish Lions as a rookie 21-year-old to whet his appetite for this summer's 33, one of Skelton's first senior matches was as part of a Waratahs side that lost 47-17 to the Lions in 2013."I was very raw," said Skelton."I didn't understand the magnitude of the tour as I do now with all the experience I have had now. "I watched the game again last week and I walked a lot of that game."I wasn't actually that good, I didn't have too many involvements - it was probably my third professional game."I wanted to look at what the atmosphere was like, how I was as a player then, how I have changed and improved, and just take it in as an experience because I know in a few weeks that is coming."Skelton, who moved to La Rochelle from Saracens in 2020, is the only overseas-based player in Australia's squad for their warm-up Test against Fiji on 6 6ft 8in tall and weighing nearly 23 stone, Skelton was asked whether his power could be a way for the Wallabies to get on top of the Lions forward pack."I will just try and be myself," he added."They have some great players, but we have also got some weapons in this team."It is about trying to fulfil that as best we can come those big games. "Aussie rugby in the last two years has improved a lot and this Wallaby team is playing a brand of footy the whole country is getting behind. We really want to take it to these guys."Skelton was part of Australia team that crashed out of the 2023 Rugby World Cup pool stages, but a calf complaint limited his involvement to their opening weekend win over returned to Australia colours for the first time since the tournament in the win over Wales in the 2024 autumn Lions' 2-1 series win in Australia in 2013 was their first tour victory in 16 years, and is also their most recent.
Wales Online
an hour ago
- Wales Online
Lions v Argentina LIVE: Kick-off time, TV details and score updates
After weeks of noise, the British and Irish Lions are poised for their first run out of what promises to be a fascinating summer. Andy Farrell's side continue their preparations by taking on Argentina in Dublin on Friday night in what will be the first match they've ever played in Ireland. It's the first of six warm-up games they will play ahead of the three-Test series with Australia, and Farrell has opted for a strong side for this opening outing. Jac Morgan is the only Welshman to start, with countryman Tomos Williams starting from the bench. The match is set to be shown on S4C and Sky Sports Main Event, but you can follow all of the action with our live blog below. Lions: Marcus Smith; Tommy Freeman, Sione Tuipulotu, Bundee Aki, Duhan van der Merwe; Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Finlay Bealham, Maro Itoje, Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Jac Morgan, Ben Earl. Reps: Ronan Kelleher, Pierre Schoeman, Tadhg Furlong, Scott Cummings, Henry Pollock, Tomos Williams, Elliot Daly, Mack Hansen. Argentina: Santiago Carreras; Rodrigo Isgro, Lucio Cinti, Justo Piccardo, Ignacio Mendy; Tomas Albornoz, Gonzalo Garcia; Mayco Vivas, Julian Montoya (c), Joel Sclavi, Franco Molina, Pedro Rubiolo, Pablo Matera, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo Reps: Bautista Bernasconi, Boris Wenger, Francisco Coria Marchetti, Santiago Grondona, Joaquin Moro, Simon Benitez Cruz, Matias Moroni, Santiago Cordero Kick-off is at 8pm BST
