Marnus makes his cut, selectors to weigh up their own

It was not unreasonable that Marnus Labuschagne, on the second morning of the Mackay Test, might expect another turn at the crease. In the nets before play, he traded throwdowns with Matthew Renshaw and stress-tested his latest adjustment: a sawn-off front thigh pad.

After an unfortunate deviation cost him his first-innings wicket the previous evening, Labuschagne had taken to the protruding bottom of his protective pad with a pair of scissors in a ramshackle piece of mid-Test DIY. 

With Bangladesh's second batting effort that day proving more abject than Australia's first, Labuschagne's opportunity to try out his reconfigured guard in the heat of battle never materialised. 

The former world No.1-ranked batter cannot be accused of not trying to find his way out of a slump that has gone on for three century-less years and 43 innings. His constant tinkering speaks to a wider uncertainty from a batting group that failed to pass 300 in their three innings on Top End pitches widely lauded for their fairness.

"If we want to stay number one in the world and win every Test match and be as good as we think we can be, I think we were probably a little bit below par both Test matches," captain Pat Cummins said after his side tallied 198, 284 and 210 in the drawn series with Bangladesh. "A couple of shining lights … but I think we probably could have extended that lead yesterday and really taken that game away from them."

On what should have been day three of Great Barrier Reef Arena's maiden Test, Alex Carey stood on the outfield in the unusual position of addressing those batting failures less than 24 hours after wrapping an innings victory. 

"There were opportunities to really put the game to bed in that first innings," Carey told reporters. "To get a(n almost) 150-run lead was fantastic. But I think we felt a little bit like we left some runs out there … We can all find ways to improve."

There are no guarantees Labuschagne will now have the chance to try out his reconfigured thigh pad in his native South Africa when the Test squad reassembles there in less than two months' time. A Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen-led seam attack shapes as a more threatening prospect than the Bangladesh bowlers who dismissed him for 1, 31 and 4 in the past 10 days.

Indeed, Australia have emerged from the start of their 20-Tests-in-12-months stretch with more questions over their batting group than they had at the start of it.

In addition to Labuschagne's long-running issues, there was a mid-series opener switch from Jake Weatherald to Matthew Renshaw; neither man passed 23 in the two Tests and neither made a compelling case to get first dibs against the new ball in Durban in a little under two months.

Then there is Travis Head, whose quiet campaign (scoring 22, 17 and 22, chopping on in all three innings) can be forgiven considering his dominant Ashes series. The question is now whether his team is best served by the left-hander attempting to bludgeon the new ball or protecting him from it.

Both Carey and Beau Webster also failed to produce any meaningful contributions with the bat against Bangladesh either. Both have credits in the bank, Carey's coming over a longer period of time.

Outside of a reminder that their pace cartel remains a fearsome prospect on bouncy decks, the other major positive from Australia's perspective was Cameron Green's whole-hearted seizing of the No.5 berth he was moved into after a sub-par summer.

"It means a lot," Green, whose 67 and 104 in last starts marked his two highest scores from his past 21 Test innings, told cricket.com.au. "I think it's just remembering what worked and trying to replicate it. That's kind of the best way to go about it."

But it is undoubtedly in the top-order where Australia's greatest headaches lie ahead of their rematch with the World Test champions in October.

Since the start of 2024, the average of Australia's batters at positions 1, 2 and 3 is 28.58 – only Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Ireland and West Indies have fared worse. There have been four centuries from those spots in that time, three of them coming from Head during last summer's Ashes.

Challenging home batting conditions are a factor, with top-three batters overall only faring worse in Pakistan and the Caribbean. Yet there was an acknowledgement from Cummins that batting approaches might have to be reconsidered.

"I think you have to," he said. "If we're not scoring the runs, you have to look at your style and your method.

"I think it's still (important to) try and keep that quite individual. Everyone goes about it a little bit differently. I think if you take last week (in Darwin) I thought Bangladesh kind of played at their tempo. They slow played a little bit, and we could have perhaps been a little bit more patient.

"So I don't think it's always (about) hitting your way out of trouble. But I think when the conditions do get a little bit extreme, we don't want batters who are sitting ducks. You've got to try and find a way to turn over the strike, make (the bowler's) margin for error a little bit smaller, make the bowler a little bit worried about missing their spot."

As it was at the tail-end of the careers of Usman Khawaja and David Warner, the conundrum Australia's selectors face when it comes to Labuschagne (and others) is the lack of alternatives.

Top-three batters in the Sheffield Shield are facing the same struggles as their Test counterparts, collectively averaging under 30 since the start of the 2023-24 season. Khawaja and Weatherald are the only Shield batters to average more than 40 from spots 1-3 over that time. 

At three specifically, Tim Ward (averaging 38.90), Kurtis Patterson (37.18), Labuschagne (35.83), Charlie Wakim (31.87) and Nathan McSweeney (30.08) are the only Shield batters to average more than 30 there (minimum 15 innings) over the past three seasons.

Patterson and McSweeney are among those who could get a shot at furthering their cases on an Australia A tour to India next month, though selectors have previously indicated subcontinental runs will have little relevance for the South Africa Tests. 

Carey on Monday endorsed his South Australia captain McSweeney as being ready if a recall came his way, coming up to two years since his baptism of fire against the Jasprit Bumrah-led India in his debut series in 2024-25.

But even Australia's unfailingly generous wicketkeeper stopped himself mid-answer to a second question on McSweeney's suitability. "Is Nathan the chat, is it?" the polite but somewhat bemused Carey said. "Is he the next one in?" Indeed, uncertainty abounds.

Qantas Tour of Zimbabwe & South Africa 2026

All matches to be broadcast exclusively in Australia on Kayo and Fox Cricket

First ODI: v Zimbabwe, September 15, Harare Sports Club, 5:30pm AEST (9:30am local)

Second ODI: v Zimbabwe, September 18, Harare Sports Club, 5:30pm AEST (9:30am local)

Third ODI: v Zimbabwe, September 20, Harare Sports Club, 5:30pm AEST (9:30am local)

First ODI: v South Africa, September 24, Kingsmead Stadium, Durban

Second ODI: v South Africa, September 27, Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Third ODI: v South Africa, September 30, JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom (D/N)

Warm-up match: October 3-4, JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom

First Test: October 9-13, Kingsmead Stadium, Durban

Second Test: October 18-22, St George’s Park, Gqeberha

Third Test: October 27-31, Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town

Register your interest for South African tour packages with Cricket Australia's Travel Office