In what could be the first steps towards leading his country, Australian Test cricketer Marnus Labuschagne will make his senior captaincy debut this week, taking charge of Queensland for Wednesday’s Marsh Cup match against South Australia at Karen Rolton Oval.
The 29-year-old, who debuted for the Bulls in 2014, will captain a Queensland side featuring former Australian representatives Ben McDermott, Matthew Kuhnemann, Gurinder Sandhu, Mitchell Swepson and Matthew Renshaw.
It marks the first time Labuschagne has captained a professional team since the Queensland Under-19 side more than a decade ago.
Bulls wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson is unavailable for the one-day contest with a knee complaint, while Test opener Usman Khawaja has been rested.
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Meanwhile, gloveman Dylan McLachlan is set to make his List A debut, becoming the first Indigenous men’s cricketer to represent Queensland since bowler Brendan Doggett.
The match is essentially a dead rubber because Queensland or South Australia, currently fifth and sixth on the Marsh Cup ladder respectively, cannot qualify for the final on Sunday, February 25.
Labuschagne, the second-youngest player in Australia’s Test side, has been touted as a potential future captain alongside teammates Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh.
Earlier this summer, Head was named co-vice-captain of the Test team alongside Steve Smith, suggesting the South Australian was leading the pack to become Pat Cummins’ eventual successor.
Meanwhile, Marsh will captain Australia’s T20 side during this month’s white-ball tour of New Zealand, while the all-rounder served as vice-captain throughout the recent World Cup triumph in India.
The Marsh Cup contest between South Australia and Queensland gets underway in Adelaide on Wednesday at 11am AEDT.
