Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has implored Marnus Labuschagne to be more proactive in his search for runs after the No.3’s approach in the first Test sparked concerns he had allowed himself to be a sitting duck for India.
Labuschagne had his second-worst return in a Test match in Perth, making two off 52 balls in the first innings before being trapped in front for three by Jasprit Bumrah to a ball he tried to leave in the second.
Asked if Australia would stick with the same top six – Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head and Mitch Marsh – in Adelaide, McDonald said: “The same people in that changeroom are the same people that will be in Adelaide.”
When asked if Josh Inglis, the squad’s spare batsman, could come into the team, McDonald replied: “We’ll assess that as we go along, but as I said, the squad that’s in there [now], they’ll be in Adelaide.”
Labuschagne, Australia’s regular first drop since 2019, has made just one Test century in his last 41 innings, averaging 30 in that time.
“When we’ve seen him at his best, he’s shown great intent at the crease,” McDonald said. “That’s an ongoing discussion and that ebbs and flows in players’ careers. At the moment he’s in one of those patches and no doubt he’ll be getting critiqued externally.
Marnus Labuschagne is under pressure to retain his spot. Credit: Getty Images
“Internally we’re really confident that, at his best, he’s the player that we need. We’re really confident he can turn that around.”
The other concern for Australia is McSweeney, who endured a baptism of fire on his Test debut, making 10 and 0 at the top of the order in what were his third and fourth innings as an opener in first-class cricket.
“I don’t think it will be any tougher than that as he goes along the journey,” said McDonald of McSweeney’s debut ahead of a return to Adelaide, where he plays most of his domestic cricket. “Bumrah’s an unbelievable player, so that was a big challenge.”
Bumrah, India’s stand-in skipper, was named player of the match honours after finishing with overall figures of 8-72.
Nathan McSweeney after his second innings duck against India.Credit: Getty Images
From two Tests in Adelaide, in 2018 and 2020, Bumrah has taken match figures of 6-115 and 2-79 respectively.
“To me, it’s about how you’re going to score runs off Jasprit,” McDonald said. “It’s one thing sitting there going ‘how am I going to defend the good balls?’, but the art of putting pressure back on him and knowing where you’re going to score off him.
“The boys were clear coming in … but it’s one thing being clear coming in and obviously once you get into the heat of battle maintaining your mindset around all of that. That’s going to be our challenge.”
Asked how Bumrah’s spells compared to others he’d seen at Test level, McDonald said: “He was good. I’ve seen our bowlers be equally good … we’ve got some really good stocks in our changeroom as well,” McDonald said.
“So whilst the focus will be on their performance, I think it’s remiss of me not to mention how good our attack is and they’ll be looking to rebound come Adelaide and throughout this series.”
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