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Marnus Labuschagne, a prominent name in Australian cricket, has had his hopes of participating in the upcoming World Cup in India extinguished as he finds himself excluded from the nation’s 18-member squad for the highly anticipated tournament later this year.
Labuschagne’s absence from the roster is a consequence of his inability to sustain the momentum from his promising initiation into the ODI arena over the past year and a half. The batter’s performance statistics reflect a decline in his batting prowess. Since March 2022, he has recorded an average of 24.93 and a strike rate of 74.94 across 17 matches. This stands in stark contrast to his initial 13 games, where he averaged 39.41 with a strike rate of 91.13, highlighted by his maiden century against South Africa in March 2020.
Lack of consistency in the 50-overs format
Regarding Labuschagne’s omission, George Bailey, the Chair of Selectors for Cricket Australia (CA), emphasized that the 29-year-old cricketer possesses the skill and potential to secure a place in the Australian ODI squad. However, his inconsistency in recent times became a factor in his removal from the squad.
“It is form based. We know Marnus at his best is good enough to hold down a spot in the one-day team, we just haven’t seen enough of it consistently in the role that we’d like him to do. Leading into the World Cup, there’s some opportunities for others to get a bit more game time,” said Bailey as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
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“We’ve been really clear with Marnus, he’s going to be part of some Australia A games around the same time so he can focus on some white-ball cricket. Clearly, the squad we have going to South Africa have the frontrunning for [the World Cup] but Marnus, the age he is, the skillset he has, I have no doubt he’ll play a part in one-day cricket in the future. We know at his best he can play a really important role in one-day cricket,” the former Australian captain added.
While Labuschagne’s aspirations for the World Cup seem thwarted for now, there remains a glimmer of hope. The batter will have the opportunity to prove himself as he is anticipated to represent Australia A against New Zealand A in a series of three One-Day matches from September 10 to 15. Following this engagement, he will also have the chance to participate in the Marsh Cup, Australia’s domestic One-Day competition. These platforms provide Labuschagne the avenue to reclaim his spot and contend for selection in the final squad designated for the World Cup, set to commence on October 5.
