With momentum building for Marnus Labuschagne to be restored to the Test team, there are a few nervous players leading into next month’s Ashes opener.
The selectors have made it clear that Usman Khawaja will be one opener and whether Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne or a dark horse like Jake Weatherald joins him at the top of the order will depend on Sheffield Shield form over the next few weeks.
Cameron Green has made a steady but not spectacular start to his time at No.3 in the Test batting line-up and after returning to bowling with four impressive overs for Western Australia in last week’s Shield loss to NSW, he says he should be ready to go full tilt against England.
If Green is back to being an out and out all-rounder rather than a specialist batter, the selectors need to ask the question whether Beau Webster is also required.
Webster would be dreadfully unlucky to lose his spot after performing well in his first seven matches in a baggy green cap.
But the balance of the team would arguably be better if Green returned to six in the batting line-up and was able to bowl 10-plus overs an innings to complement the four frontline bowlers.
And that would open up first drop in the batting line-up for Labuschagne, his preferred spot, after his recent form resurgence for Queensland, which has included 160 in the Shield opening round, bookmarked by a couple of one-day tons.
Webster has done nothing wrong since getting his debut at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series-deciding final Test at the SCG in January.
He has rescued the Australian innings on four occasions with half-centuries on tricky wickets but his top score of 72 is not yet enough to cement a spot as a long-term option in the top six.
His bowling has also been more than handy – eight wickets at 23.25 from just 60 overs across the six matches in which he has been called on to bowl.
Throw in his exceptional fielding in the gully and he has fulfilled his brief to prove that he is not out of place at the elite level after more than a decade toiling away for Tasmania on the domestic scene.
Beau Webster. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images for Cricket Australia)
But just like the spinner and wicketkeeper in the Australian Test team, being an all-rounder means that if you are not the best option, then that usually means you are not in the first XI.
Labuschagne, after his extended form slump eventually led to the selectors dropping him for the tour of the West Indies in June, is starting to again resemble the batter who rose to the top of the Test rankings just a few years ago.
The 31-year-old’s form has caught the eye of the national selection panel of George Bailey, Tony Dodemaide and coach Andrew McDonald.
He made just 17 and 22 in the World Test Championship final after being given a crack at opener in a bid to find form.
Cameron Green. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
His recent ton for Queensland was at three and McDonald said either option was a possibility if he is recalled for the November 21 clash with England at Optus Stadium.
“We definitely see Marnus as an opening option,” McDonald said at a media conference on Friday.
“He’s had an outstanding record at three for Australia. He is doing all the right things at the moment with three domestic hundreds in four hits.
“More impressive was the method that he applied, in the front half of that innings in particular against Tassie at AB Field.
“It’s not necessarily the output sometimes you’re looking for. It’s the way he’s going about it, some subtle changes that he has made to his game.
“And to see those implemented first up in Shield round one, big tick to Marnus for all the work he’s done.
“On the back of a little layoff as well, maybe he’s nice and fresh at the moment, making some good decisions around his game.”
That last quote could be part of a turning point in Labuschagne’s career.
Marnus Labuschagne reacts angrily to being dismissed at the WTC final in June. (Photo by Ben Whitley/PA Images via Getty Images)
A player who lives and breathes cricket, the fact that he was dropped for the first time since establishing his place in the national team in 2019 could turn out to be the catalyst for another purple patch.
Labuschagne recently said he committed himself to being a good tourist as a travelling reserve in the Caribbean to help the players on field.
And although he did not take an extended break from the game leading into this summer as a few of the other veteran Australian players have done, he said he learned to “train smarter” during his pre-season preparations rather than simply spending hour upon hour in the nets.
Given there will likely be concerns about throwing Green back into a heavy workload in his return from back surgery, Webster is likely to get the nod for the Ashes series opener with selectors either sticking with Konstas or recalling Labuschagne.
But if the batting line-up fails to fire early in the series, the selectors could decide that two all-rounders in the team is one too many.
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