Last Updated on 18 seconds ago by Charbel Coorey

Marnus Labuschagne has had a difficult few years, but it’s hard to recall a day where he looked as nervous and tentative as he did on day two at Newlands.

Walking to the crease in the 18th over after Travis Head chopped on (yet again) off Simon Harmer’s first delivery, Labuschagne looked as if he could get out to every one of the five deliveries he faced. He started with a tentative, uppish push which nearly carried to midwicket and it only got worse from there.

Australia’s number three had no interest in getting forward, playing from the crease and working every delivery to the legside. Harmer is too wily, classy and experienced to let such an opportunity slip, hanging the ball a little wider on a similar length, with Labuschagne again playing from the crease and edging to Aiden Markram at slip.

Australia have persisted with Marnus Labuschagne for so long that it is actually to detriment of the player

Labuschagne enjoyed a magnificent start to his Test career, but a lot of water has gone under the bridge since. The selectors have held on in the hope that he rediscovers the form that took him to number one in the world. He’s been cooked as a result.

With a Test average in the mid 20s since July 2023, Labuschagne was fortunate to be on the plane to South Africa. His series against Bangladesh in August was underwhelming, out twice for a single digit score with a 31 sandwiched inbetween. In that innings of 31 in Darwin, he was dropped by Litton Das on eight and then played all round a Taijul Islam legstump half volley.

The fact that Australia didn’t pick a reserve number three in the Test squad for South Africa is remarkable when you consider Labuschagne’s poor run. After three 30s in the first two Tests – including a rush of blood at a crucial time in Gqeberha – there was speculation Labuschagne was facing the axe for Cape Town. The problem, however, was no specialist number three in reserve given other members of the squad -namely Cameron Green and Josh Inglis – bat four or below.

It’s well overdue, but it’s time George Bailey and co. show some conviction in their decision making. This team management have often preferred to persist with underperforming seniors rather than give newcomers an extended run in the side. New Zealand in December is when that trend must end.

Kurtis Patterson is arguably the frontrunner to make a return to the Test team after nearly eight years. Since the start of the 2024/25 Sheffield Shield season, the left-hander has scored 1,558 runs at an average of 47.21 with four hundreds. Nathan McSweeney, who can bat time and is technically sound, is another option especially if he can score runs for South Australia in the coming weeks.

One thing Australia can ill-afford is to carry a tentative player at number three. It’s now 48 innings without a Test century for Labuschagne dating back to July 2023. He’s averaging 24.77 in this period and is shot to bits.

The manner of his dismissal in Cape Town was particularly telling. Journalists covering the series reported that Labuschagne looked flat at training. It was the same in the match proper. He is a victim of his love for cricket and his tendency to overthink every aspect of his game, and cannot free himself as a result.

Simon Katich is not one to mince words. And he has hit the nail on the head again, putting the spotlight on the selectors rather than Labuschagne himself.

“That’s nerves, and that’s the pressure the selectors have put him under for an extended period of time,” Katich said on SEN Cricket.

“They deserve to be in the same situation as him here. They put him in this position by not making the decision to give him a breather. I feel for him, I’ve been through it and it’s not pleasant.”

Labuschagne potentially has one more innings to make a score and somehow hold his spot for the New Zealand series. But, on the evidence of the first innings at Cape Town – as well as the last three years – that is a very long shot indeed.