In the immediate aftermath of Australia’s loss to South Africa in the World Test Championship at Lord’s last Saturday, skipper Pat Cummins foreshadowed a reset that is now coming to fruition.
It took just five days for the selection hierarchy to decide that, after being granted an extended run based on previous form, Marnus Labuschagne’s time was up, at least for now.
The first domino has fallen. But with superstar Steve Smith and veteran opener Usman Khawaja closer to 40 than 30, the evolution of Australia’s Test team is underway.
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The make-up of the Australian top order for the Ashes beginning in Perth on November 21 will be fascinating, for a new WTC cycle has been welcomed with the arrival of a broom as the Aussies begin looking to the future while dealing with present demands.
Australian coach Andrew McDonald, who also spoke at Lord’s prior to Australia’s departure for the Caribbean, issued strong shows of support for both Labuschagne and Khawaja at the time.
The latter, he said, was under contract, an important player and a cricketer who “gives us stability at his best at the top”. The former is now sidelined despite an injury to Smith.
McDonald and Cummins both indicated loyalty had played a role in Australia’s run to the WTC decider was a factor, but the axing of Labuschagne confirms spots are now available, which should reinvigorate batters aspiring to wear the “Baggy Green”.
Runs, and the manner with which they are scored, will matter in the next few months and the Australian coach put top order batters around the country on alert when saying selectors were canvassing far and wide.
While Josh Inglis and Sam Konstas will get their chance to impress in the Caribbean, McDonald was quick to state that Sheffield Shield form was likely to be more important than whatever unfolded in the West Indies given the difference in conditions.
“Whoever gets the opportunity to play in that first Test match in the West Indies will be ready for that and that goes for when we hit Australian shores again,” McDonald said.
“We’ve got a nice build up and everyone wants to talk about the Ashes, (well) we’ve got Shield cricket leading into that also, so probably the direct connection to the Ashes would be potentially the first few Shield games more likely than the West Indies, in my opinion.”
There is sense in that logic given England appears certain to bring a battery of fast bowlers to Australia, as opposed to the West Indies, where the Aussies believe spin will be a factor and are planning on unleashing Matt Kuhnemann alongside Nathan Lyon.
Hopefuls including Test discards Nathan McSweeney, Matthew Renshaw, Cameron Bancroft, Kurtis Patterson and Marcus Harris, along with Jake Weatherald and Jason Sangha, will all get a chance to press their case in the opening Sheffield Shield rounds from October.
Their Ashes credentials will be examined by Test stars including Cummins, Mitch Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland, along with Brendon Doggett, Fergus O’Neill and Spencer Johnson, who appeal as prospects to replace the fabled attack down the track.
The first chance to impress for those not in the Caribbean comes next month in an Australia A series in Darwin under new coach Tim Paine, with McSweeney saying this week he was keen to press his claims after being bamboozled by Jasprit Bumrah last summer.
“Hopefully I can hit the ground running. A little reset was probably what I needed at this time,” he told Code Sports.
“At least I’ve got some cricket coming up. So hopefully (I can) just get back on the run train and start building my case again. And if there is an opportunity that comes up, hopefully I’m scoring them at the right time and can take it with both hands.”
Paine, the former Australian captain who has been working as a broadcaster in Tasmania while working as the Adelaide Strikers BBL coach, will finish his radio role next Friday and believes there is plenty of young talent capable of pressing for Test selection.
“It’s time to spread my wings. I’ve been working with Australia A as an assistant coach and the opportunity has come up for me to be the head coach,” he said.
“I feel it is a very hard balancing act to pursue a career coaching and talk in the media. The best way forward is now with one and the opportunity CA has given me to develop my coaching is a really good one.
“The Australia A program is very exciting. There’s a lot of young talent to work with (and) it is something I really enjoy doing. I’m very lucky and I’m really looking forward to the next part of my journey.”
It must be reiterated that Labuschagne is not out of contention for the Ashes, as much as it is difficult to see him returning in the Caribbean given Smith will come back in when he is fit.
While McSweeney, 26, and Sangha, 25, have youth on their side, Labuschagne is either a similar age or younger than other possible candidates to fill spots in the top order.
During the WTC Final, South African superstar AB de Villiers was interviewed by Sky Sports and said that he had watched the 30-year-old closely at the crease from a side-on vantage point.
Although the South African-born Aussie only contributed 39 runs, de Villiers said there were signs Labuschagne was not far from rediscovering the form that has seen him make nine Test centuries and that the Queenslander could still be a force.
After watching South African Aiden Markram, who was twice dropped from South Africa’s Test team, star in the Proteas outstanding run chase at Lord’s last week, McDonald also said the evidence showed that a stint back in domestic cricket could prove beneficial for players.
“I think most players across their journey get dropped at some point in time, and time in the middle is important,” McDonald said.
“He had a couple of opportunities at County level as well. He plays games for Queensland. So he’s still dipping in and out of international cricket (and) back to domestic cricket. I think he had a positive week here (at Lord’s) where he worked on the right things and had a great prep, and sometimes a great prep is never a keen indicator of performance. So you can have a bad prep and still perform, but he was doing a lot right. And there’s no harder worker than Marnus, and now it’s really just about the returns.”
WHO ARE THE CONTENDERS IN WAITING?
Nathan McSweeney
Age: 26
Tests: 3 (72 runs at an average of 14.46)
FC matches: 41 (2511 runs at an average of 34.87)
McSweeney got his first taste of Test cricket during last summer’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy, albeit serving in an unfamiliar role.
The right-hander, who typically bats at No. 3 for South Australia, was tasked with facing the new ball against Indian weapon Jasprit Bumrah. He was dropped after three matches.
However, McSweeney remains a part of Australia’s long-term plans, earning selection as a reserve batter during the recent Test tour of Sri Lanka.
Matthew Renshaw
Age: 29
Tests: 14 (645 runs at an average of 29.31)
FC matches: 126 (7681 runs at an average of 37.28)
Renshaw failed to seize his chances in the national set-up after cracking a maiden Test hundred in 2017 aged 20.
The Queenslander earned a long-awaited Test recall in 2023 after a purple patch in the Sheffield Shield, but he was swiftly dropped after posting scores of 5*, 0, 2 and 2.
Renshaw only averaged 29.17 with the bat during last summer’s Sheffield Shield, but he’d put himself back in the national conversation with a couple of big scores in October.
Kurtis Patterson
Age: 32
Tests: 2 (144 runs at an average of 144)
FC matches: 108 (6709 runs at an average of 39)
The forgotten man of Australian cricket, Patterson notched his maiden Test century in 2019 but was discarded the very next match to accommodate Steve Smith’s return from suspension.
The left-hander was dropped by New South Wales during the 2023/24 summer following a frustrating form slump, but he earned a recall 12 months later — and returned to the Sheffield Shield in style.
Patterson has smacked 743 runs at 57.15 since his second coming, typically batting at No. 3 for the Blues.
Marcus Harris
Age: 32
Tests: 14 (607 runs at an average of 25.29)
FC matches: 183 (12438 runs at an average of 39.99)
Harris presented a compelling case to open the batting in this month’s World Test Championship final after clobbering hundreds of runs for Lancashire in the County Championship.
The Victorian has already enjoyed multiple stints in the Test side without reaching triple figures, but he remains one of Australia’s most prolific run-scorers at domestic level.
He’s one of the leading candidates to replace Usman Khawaja at the top of the order following his retirement.
Cameron Bancroft
Age: 32
Tests: 10 (446 runs at an average of 26.23)
FC matches: 176 (11311 runs at an average of 38.60)
It’s been six years since Bancroft’s most recent Test appearance, with the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal interrupting his international career.
The West Australian was the Sheffield Shield’s leading run-scorer from 2022 to 2024, but national selectors elevated Steve Smith to the top of the order following David Warner retirement rather than rewarding the nation’s most consistent opener at domestic level.
An untimely form slump ruined any chance of Bancroft earning a recall for last summer’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign.
Jason Sangha
Age: 25
Tests: 0
FC matches: 45 (2489 runs at an average of 33.63)
Sangha was dropped from the New South Wales Sheffield Shield side in 2023/24 after a quiet couple of years with the willow, prompting a move to South Australia.
Last summer, the right-hander helped his adopted state break its Sheffield Shield title drought after clobbering 704 runs at 78.22, including a match-winning hundred in the final against Queensland.
He also has plenty of leadership experience, captaining Australia at Under-19 level and the Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League.
Jake Weatherald
Age: 30
Tests: 0
FC matches: 71 (4784 runs at an average of 36.24)
After eight seasons with South Australia, Weatherald reinvigorated his first-class career by moving to Tasmania ahead of the 2023/24 summer.
The Darwin-born opener was the Sheffield Shield’s leading run-scorer last summer with 906 runs at 50.33 and a healthy strike rate of 68.27, including three hundreds for the Tigers.
If chosen purely off form, Weatherald looms as an option to replace Usman Khawaja in the Test side following his retirement.
