Katich rips selectors as Marnus taunted before Aussies fight back to take lead
Marnus Labuschagne’s Test match career is hanging by the thinnest thread after a disastrous five-ball duck against South Africa in Cape Town.
Labuschagne came into the final match of the series under serious pressure.
Marnus Labuschagne of Australia walks off after being dismissed during day 2. Getty Images
The conjecture was he wouldn’t even be picked for this Test after scores of 37, 37, 14 and 39. His final dismissal was a shocker after he was caught at deep mid-wicket when Australia was in a precarious position.
Despite the frustration, Labuschagne survived, and did not repay chairman of selectors George Bailey and coach Andrew McDonald.
He faced five balls against Simon Harmer and looked unsure of himself as the Proteas chirped away.
The fifth ball he nicked to slip and was gone for a duck.
Simon Katich put the blame squarely on the selectors.
“That’s the pressure the selectors have put him under for an extended period of time,” he said immediately on SEN.
“They deserve to be in the same situation as him here, they put him in this situation by not deciding to give him a breather and make the circuit breaker decision. Everyone’s been talking about it, they refused to do it, and I actually feel for him because I’ve been through this, and it’s not pleasant ... there’s no worse feeling in the game.”
Labuschagne’s dismissal meant Australia was 2-58 after 18 overs following a solid start from openers Matt Renshaw and Travis Head (41).
The wicket meant Australia’s top order collapsed again, putting those below them under pressure, a scenario all too familiar amid Labuschagne’s barren run of no centuries since July 2023.
On SuperSport’s lunch coverage, Katich expressed his sympathy for Labuschagne again.
“It’s hard not to feel for him ... the pressure that mounts, it’s brutal, particularly mentally, it’s hard to sleep, it’s hard to block it out,” he said.
“At the moment, the selectors are putting him in such a bad position because they continue to pick him when he’s under so much pressure rather than give him a break, make the circuit breaker, get him out of the pressure cooker and let him go away and regather his best so when he’s back, he’s better for it.
“He’s still only a young man, he’s in his early 30s, there’s no reason why he can’t come back into this Test team given there will be change over the next 12 months.
“At the moment he’s nowhere near his best ... what we saw today is a scrambled mindset. He’s played back to a ball he should be getting forward to.”
Marnus Labuschagne’s shot that dismissed him against South Africa. AP
The increased intensity from South Africa when Labuschagne was at the crease suggested his talk at slip on day one fired up his rivals.
Harmer’s bowling was smart but in no way bamboozling. The majority of his five balls were straight, but he mixed it up with how much flight he gave every delivery.
The fifth delivery was the fastest of the set at 87.9km/h.
South Africa’s joy was clear, with Matthew Breetzke jumping across the pitch and screaming with his eyes directly on Labuschagne.
“That might have been a return serve when he got out to Cooper Connolly because Marnus was at first slip when that happened,” Katich said.
David Warner also said on Fox Cricket it was a “sign of Marnus’ chitter chatter form yesterday”.
Matthew Breetzke jumps across the pitch. SuperSport
On Fox’s panel of Warner, Mark Waugh, Kerry O’Keeffe and Brendon Julian, the consensus was that Labuschagne is simply not watching the ball and instead worrying too much about his technique.
“He’s played back to a half volley there. It should’ve been four ... for me, he’s just not watching the ball and thinking about I need runs without actually going through the right process,” Waugh said.
O’Keeffe said he was “tentative” in his five balls, and he could be the first victim in a changing of the guard for Australia. That’s a horror situation for selectors considering he’s one of the younger players at 32.
“If he doesn’t get runs in the second innings then the regeneration of this team will start with Marnus, and there won’t be any way back because they should give those that come in an extended time in to secure themselves,” O’Keeffe said.
Despite the top order collapse, Australia finished day two in a strong position with a one-run lead at 4-330.
Josh Inglis (85) and Alex Carey (51) were both not out after Matt Renshaw (74) and Cameron Green (65) helped stop another significant collapse.
