Labuschagne scores homecoming century to cement Test selection
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Embattled batter Marnus Labuschagne has all but assured his selection in Australia’s Test team this week with a timely century in a South Africa tour game.
Labuschagne took just 76 deliveries to bring up triple figures as he belted 19 boundaries against an invitational team that was closer in quality to a club side than an actual Test outfit.
Marnus Labuschagne has been out of runs lately. Getty Images
But it will be handy nonetheless for the 32-year-old who hasn’t scored a Test century in three years, and has faced mounting calls to lose his spot in the Australian batting order.
He is expected to bat at No.3 when the Aussies take on South Africa in Durban on Friday.
It is a homecoming for Labuschagne, who grew up in South Africa before moving to Australia as a youngster.
Ironically, the ground where he hit the century on Sunday night is only a 40-minute drive from his childhood home.
Labuschagne’s family hosted a barbecue for the Aussie cricketers before his tour-game ton.
Matt Renshaw, who has been recalled to the Test squad and is expected to open the batting on Friday, was happy to see the maligned Labuschagne make a score.
“Looks like he’s got a lot of energy at the crease, which is nice,” Renshaw said per Cricket Australia.
“It’s the Marn I know out there, so it’s nice to see him getting amongst the runs and doing what he wants to do.
“It was nice positivity, his feet were moving well and he was just reacting.”
Renshaw scored 32 alongside Travis Head at the top of the order.
It was a good sign for the recalled Aussie who suffered an injury during last week’s ODI when a ball hit him on the arm.
“It felt all right out there... fortunately nothing serious, just a bit of swelling,” Renshaw said.
“It was nice to face some (fast) bowlers. The one-day series was a lot of facing spin, so it was a completely different scenario for me facing the new red ball.
“It was really nice to get a bit of exposure out there, and it felt like my rhythm was going really well.”
There is still a major injury cloud over out-of-form all-rounder Cameron Green, who tweaked an abdominal muscle last week and is racing the clock to be fit.
Back-up keeper-batter Josh Inglis is also out with a finger injury, and Sam Harper and Nic Maddinson have been flown into the squad as cover.
Friday’s first Test is the first time the Aussie team has been back in South Africa since the infamous 2018 tour, where Cameron Bancroft was busted using sandpaper to tamper with the ball in Cape Town.
