Australia names squad for South Africa Test tour, retains Labuschagne despite poor form

Australian selectors have stuck with struggling batter Marnus Labuschagne for next month’s Test tour of South Africa. Sixteen players were named on Monday, including all those involved in the most recent defeat of Bangladesh in Mackay.

Fast bowler Michael Neser, spinner Matthew Kuhnemann and batter Cooper Connolly will join the group for the series starting in Durban on 9 October.

Labuschagne was ICC’s top-ranked Test batter in 2023, but has struggled for runs in the years since with his last century coming in the 2023 Ashes. He averaged 25 in last summer’s Ashes, and then had scores of 1, 31 and 4 in the recent Tests against Bangladesh.

The 32-year-old will be competing with Josh Inglis and Connolly, the 23-year-old who has been tipped for a bright future.

Connolly has played one Test for Australia last year in Sri Lanka, as well as matches in T20 and ODI formats. He will be in South Africa for the ODI series prior to the Tests in a squad named last week notable for its omission of Labuschagne.

Connolly scored 216 runs at an average of 31 for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield last season, but has a solid first class record. Over 13 matches, the middle-order batter averages 42.

Chair of selectors George Bailey said the squad provides options for the tightly-scheduled tour, which marks the start of a busy summer for Australia, before red ball series with New Zealand and India.

“This is a reasonably condensed three-game series, on the back of six one-day internationals, with only short breaks between each game,” he said. “The squad provides balance and options for each Test and the variety of conditions we may face.”