Labuschagne axed as Konstas and Inglis to face West Indies
Steve Smith has been officially ruled out of Australia's first Test against the West Indies in Barbados, as selectors swing the axe on underperforming batter Marnus Labuschagne.
Smith is still recovering from the finger injury he sustained during the World Test Championship final against South Africa and will be assessed again ahead of the second Test in Grenada.
However, in major news five days out from the first Test in Bridgetown, selectors have confirmed that Labuschagne will be dropped from Australia's XI.
The No.3 hasn't made a century in his past 30 innings.
Chair of selectors George Bailey confirmed Josh Inglis and Sam Konstas would replace Smith and Labuschagne in the XI for the series opener starting June 25 at Kensington Oval.
'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.
'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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
19 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘Chaos in Darwin!' Wheel goes flying
Supercars: Australian Jack Le Brocq's left front wheel was torn off and bounced over the wall following a crash during a safety car restart in first Supercars race of the weekend in Darwin.
The Australian
27 minutes ago
- The Australian
'That's their Melbourne Cup': Dolan delivers on Oughton in Eye Liner
Robbie Dolan has already won a miracle Melbourne Cup but he declared Saturday's Eye Liner Stakes triumph was like winning a Melbourne Cup for trainer Melissa Kelly. Dolan, who won last year's Melbourne Cup aboard Queensland bolter Knight's Choice, has been telling anyone who will listen that Oughton would be tough to beat in the Listed Eye Liner at Ipswich. Oughton, who at one stage spent a stint racing in Hong Kong, was sent out $8 and Dolan powered the gelding home over Sha Of Gomer ($20) which had looked like winning until the final strides. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Dolan was front and centre at Ipswich last November when he ventured there to ride only two days after his famous Melbourne Cup win. The Irishman spent almost as much time signing autographs, posing for pictures and talking to the media that day than he did riding horses. But it was all business on Saturday and Dolan felt like he had a golden chance on Oughton after his effort to finish fifth behind Front Page in the Group 2 Moreton Cup. He overcame some headaches in the run to score on Oughton but was tickled pink for Gold Coast trainer Kelly. 'That means a lot to this stable - that's their Melbourne Cup,' Dolan said. 'He's had a lot of problems over the years, this horse. 'He came back from Hong Kong and it didn't go to plan in the race today. 'I got smashed coming out of the barriers and so I needed luck and I got it. 'I ended up down the rail, but I could see (favourite) Warnie down in front of me and I had my eyes set on him. 'To be honest, once I got to the outside, albeit he wanted to lay in, he found the line very good.' Warne, the $2.45 Ciaron-Maher trained favourite, was coasting in the run under Regan Bayliss. But he never got clear air at a vital time and went to the line with plenty of petrol in the tank, finishing fifth to be beaten two lengths. Kelly said Oughton would have enjoyed the win just as much as she did. READ: 'He's found his home': Flash Aah springs Ipswich Cup upset 'He gets a little bit cocky this horse,' Kelly said. 'He knows when he's run and when he's run a good race and when he has won. 'Before his last run he was just a little bit soft because he was a month between runs and he just knocked up. 'We knew he was going in a lot fitter today.' Jeff Dunn, who trained runner-up Sha Of Gomer, almost conjured the win and it would have been a fairytale as his partner Rikki Jamieson was riding. Sha Of Gomer was formerly trained by Chris Waller but was having his fourth run for Dunn who trains at Beaudesert.
The Australian
27 minutes ago
- The Australian
$5500 online purchase delivers on debut for Jess and James Tzaferis
Talented filly Kalosyni didn't break the bank when Jess and James Tzaferis bought her online but has proven to be a mighty challenge for the duo. And it's why James Tzaferis was in awe of her debut win in the opener at Morphettville on Saturday when the three-year-old filly showed a sharp turn of foot to run down tough leader Aramoso. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! The daughter of Magna Grecia was knocked off for only $5500 on Inglis Digital and Tzaferis admitted he was unsure if she would ever make it to the races. But she's now got $27,300 in prizemoney after just one start and off that victory, plenty more looks to be in store. 'If anyone has seen this horse from when we bought her as a yearling and everything we've gone through to get her to the races, you would be a believer as well because she's done an incredible job,' Tzaferis said. 'We bought her online for $5500 and she's had no soundness problems but mentally she's been the hardest horse I've had anything to do with and probably one of the hardest Jess has too. 'We didn't put any owners into her because we didn't think she would ever make it to the races but she's really turned the corner this campaign. 'So we got some owners into her about a month ago and most of them are here on track so it's a great result.' When markets went up there was a bit of support for Kalosyni but it wasn't due to a push from the stable. Kalosyni wins on debut. Picture: Makoto Kaneko Tzaferis expected her to run well but was a bit surprised with the way she won given how tough it is tackling a metropolitan maiden race on debut. 'I thought she would run well but I didn't expect her to do that so I hadn't told the owners to have a bet,' Tzaferis said. 'I thought she would run well but it's hard to have confidence in a horse having its first start at the races in town.' The victory gave dual licence holder Jess Tzaferis her second metropolitan win as a trainer for the season after Royal Fox was able to win on the Parks circuit earlier in the year.
