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Labuschagne Survives in Australia’s Squad for South Africa Tour

Cricketer celebrating a century in yellow uniform
Cricket

Marnus Labuschagne has survived the cut. Just.

Under mounting scrutiny and with his numbers sliding year on year, the 32-year-old has clung to his Test spot for Australia’s three-match tour of South Africa, named on Monday in a 16-man squad for the series starting in Durban on October 9.

No Test hundred since the 2023 Ashes. Scores of 1, 31 and 4 in the recent series against Bangladesh. A batting average that has steadily dipped: 34.91 in 2023, 30.93 in 2024, 20.84 in 2025, and just 24.20 so far this year.

Yet he’s still on the plane for Australia’s first Test tour of South Africa since the Sandpapergate scandal in 2018, a return that carries its own emotional weight for the group and for the public watching on.

Labuschagne has been overlooked for the white-ball leg of the trip, a clear sign the selectors are narrowing his role. But he remains firmly in the frame to hold his place in the starting XI, his Test pedigree and past dominance buying him more time in the most scrutinised batting line-up in the game.

Connolly rewarded as selectors load up on options

While Labuschagne keeps his spot, the door opens wider for Cooper Connolly.

The West Australian all-rounder, with a first-class average of 42 from 13 matches, has been included in an extended squad and continues his rapid rise after a debut in Galle against Sri Lanka last year. His selection adds a fresh layer to Australia’s spin and all-round stocks on a tour that could demand flexibility from day one.

Australia will travel with three spin options: Nathan Lyon, Matt Kuhnemann and Connolly. Lyon remains the spearhead, Kuhnemann the left-arm variation, and Connolly the wildcard who can lengthen the batting and offer overs if conditions break up.

Beau Webster joins Connolly and Cameron Green as the all-rounders, giving Pat Cummins and coach Andrew McDonald the luxury of multiple seam-and-spin combinations across what shapes as a tight, physically demanding schedule.

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

The message is clear: versatility will decide selections as much as reputation.

Weatherald misses out again

At the top of the order, there was no reprieve for Jake Weatherald.

The opener, dropped for Matthew Renshaw after Australia’s defeat to Bangladesh in Darwin, has again been overlooked. Renshaw retains his place and now has a clear runway to cement a long-term role, with the selectors doubling down on their call rather than revisiting the change after a single setback.

Josh Inglis again slots in as reserve wicketkeeper behind Alex Carey, a continuation of a structure the selectors trust: stability with Carey, pressure and depth from Inglis.

The pace attack, as always, looks formidable. Cummins leads a fast-bowling group that includes Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Michael Neser. Between them, they cover almost every condition South Africa can throw up: high pace, relentless accuracy, left-arm angle, and the seam movement that has often defined series in that part of the world.

The squad in full

  • Pat Cummins (NSW/Penrith Cricket Club) (c)
  • Scott Boland (VIC/Frankston Peninsula Cricket Club)
  • Alex Carey (SA/Glenelg Cricket Club)
  • Cooper Connolly (WA/Scarborough Cricket Club)
  • Cameron Green (WA/Subiaco-Floreat Cricket Club)
  • Josh Hazlewood (NSW/St George Cricket Club)
  • Travis Head (SA/Tea Tree Gully Cricket Club)
  • Josh Inglis (WA/Joondalup Cricket Club)
  • Matthew Kuhnemann (TAS/Clarence Cricket Club)
  • Marnus Labuschagne (QLD/Redlands Cricket Club)
  • Nathan Lyon (NSW/Northern District Cricket Club)
  • Michael Neser (QLD/Gold Coast Cricket Club)
  • Matthew Renshaw (QLD/Toombul Cricket Club)
  • Steve Smith (NSW/Sutherland Cricket Club)
  • Mitchell Starc (NSW/Manly Warringah Cricket Club)
  • Beau Webster (TAS/Kingborough Cricket Club)

Names like Cummins, Starc, Lyon and Smith give the squad a familiar spine. Around them, the selectors have quietly reshaped the fringes: Connolly and Webster as flexible all-round options, Renshaw backed at the top, Inglis and Neser reinforcing depth in key roles.

But the most intriguing storyline sits in the middle order.

Labuschagne, once the immovable object in Australia’s batting, now walks into a tour where every innings will feel like an examination. South Africa, the scene of one of Australian cricket’s darkest chapters, now offers him something different: a chance to prove he still belongs at the heart of this side, not just in its recent history.

The axe has been stayed. The questions haven’t.

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