Marnus Labuschagne continued his rich vein of form by scoring his fourth century in five innings, strengthening his case for a Test recall ahead of the Ashes.
The 31-year-old Queensland batter struck 159 on day two of the Sheffield Shield match against South Australia, adding to recent scores of 130 and 105 in Australia’s domestic one-day competition and 160 in the previous round of red-ball matches.
Resurgent run after Test omission
Labuschagne, who owns 11 Test centuries in 58 matches, was left out of Australia’s recent three-Test series against the West Indies following a prolonged dip in form. His last Test hundred came during the 2023 Ashes, after which he endured a 30-innings stretch averaging below 25.
This latest purple patch, however, has revived talk of his return for the upcoming Ashes, starting in Perth on 21 November.
Australia’s top-order dilemma
Labuschagne batted at number three for Queensland — the position where he has scored all his Test centuries — but Australia still face uncertainty at the top of the order. He had been promoted to open during the World Test Championship final defeat to South Africa, where he made 17 and 22.
Twenty-year-old Sam Konstas, who opened in the West Indies series, has struggled for runs this season. Despite a recent century for Australia A in India, he managed only 50 runs across six Test innings and fell for a four-ball duck against Scott Boland in the latest domestic round.
Selection puzzle ahead of Perth
Tasmanian opener Jake Weatherald boosted his own hopes with a fluent 94 off 99 balls against Western Australia. If selectors opt to recall Labuschagne as an opener, it would allow Cameron Green to bat at number three and keep Beau Webster in the middle order.
Webster is currently sidelined with an ankle injury, while Green — who has only one fifty in eight innings at number three — will feature in the upcoming ODI series against India starting Sunday.
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