Former opener and head coach Justin Langer is backing Marnus Labuschagne to stay in Australia’s top order. He believes dropping Labuschagne would hurt the development of future Test batsmen. Labuschagne’s form has been questioned after Australia’s five-wicket loss to South Africa in the ICC World Test Championship final 2025 where he scored 17 and 22, ending the two-year cycle with an average of 27.82.
“Marnus is an experienced player at this level. He’s been one of the best in the game and still has an average of 46.19. Every player hits a rough patch. If you’re not scoring, people will notice. With David Warner and Usman Khawaja gone and Steve Smith’s future uncertain, if Marnus isn’t scoring it creates a big hole because Travis Head is batting lower in the order. He’s a key part of the team,” Langer said to reporters while watching the State of Origin rugby league series in Perth.
After the WTC final loss, Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald said Labuschagne is still in their plans but hinted how long they would keep him in the team if his form doesn’t improve.
“When you look at the history of Australian cricket, the best young players usually step in alongside experienced pros. Think about players like Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting – they had legends around them when they started. Bringing in younger players to replace Labuschagne is a risk.
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For example, Sam Konstas has only played a few Tests and has two first-class centuries from the same match. These newcomers need to have impressive records to join an Ashes series; they can’t just be average,” Langer said.
