Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne have been the axis of Australia’s batting since the Ashes Test at Lord’s in 2019. You say their names in that order even though Labuschagne usually came in first, because there was no doubting who was the senior half of the pair. But a pair they were, if we can go a bit hero-myth for the origin: first innings there was Smith felled by a bouncer, second there was Labuschagne springing back up in his place, a carbon copy combatant born from a metaphorical drop of blood.
In excelling as Smith’s substitute, Labuschagne laid claim to the spot in the order above him, the protege tasked with paving the way for the maestro. Immediately the sense of replication moved beyond timing to manner. With one player learning from the other, they formed a symphony of quirks on the field, and as Smith’s output of runs returned to a mortal level, Labuschagne’s climbed the other way. Three tons in three innings sparked a patch of four years in which at least one of the two was always making runs, if not both in concert. But in the last two years, while Smith has peaked again, Labuschagne has declined.
Now, at a stroke, both are gone, out of the side for the first Test against West Indies in Barbados starting on Wednesday. It began at Lord’s in 2019 and ended there six years later, after the World Test Championship final, Smith with a damaged finger, Labuschagne with dented confidence in the middle. One is recovering, the other recused. Their absence may be brief: Smith is hoping to return for the second Test in Grenada, Labuschagne remains in the squad and was backed by Australia’s chief selector George Bailey to get his game right and return. But Test cricket isn’t that predictable, and most careers end abruptly. For now, at least, it is very strange to imagine an Australian team sheet including neither name.
It’s not that Labuschagne’s WTC effort was terrible: batting for 90 minutes in each innings meant he did the first part of an opener’s job description, avoiding early disaster against the freshest bowlers and newest ball. Smith’s injury could have been his lifeline, given a different selection panel might have opted to keep Labuschagne’s experience, moving him from makeshift opener back down to his usual spot at No 3, with Cameron Green shifting again to his preferred No 4 and Sam Konstas the one addition to open.
Konstas was always going to play, as the time arrives for him to take the next step in his career beyond leaving his promising resumé under the espresso machine. But while Labuschagne’s claims have been waning, Josh Inglis has been demanding a spot for the past two years while having those demands incrementally met: replacing Alex Carey as wicketkeeper at the Cricket World Cup, starring in some T20Is, holding onto the gloves when Carey returned to the one-day side as a specialist bat, then swapping those roles for one Test in Sri Lanka when Inglis filled a gap, using that vacancy to make a century on debut, before a wild match-winning hundred in the Champions Trophy against England.
A more bullish group of selectors would have picked Inglis for the WTC final, as the kind of player who has consistently solved problems, but they went with stability and ultimately lost. So Labuschagne’s last chance becomes a next chance for Inglis. For all that Bailey downplayed the decision, it is unusual and notable that the omission was announced several days before the match, making sure the story would be quelled early rather than dragging on until the toss.
Labuschagne’s struggles also mean that Usman Khawaja escapes pressure for the time being: he did make one monster score on the slow tracks of Sri Lanka, but has similarly struggled for the past couple of years against quality pace bowling. Whether the ranks of West Indies quicks can produce enough to test him will determine whether Khawaja credibly answers questions on the matter ahead of the Ashes, when England may or may not have threatening options at their disposal.
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For West Indies, quality pace will be compromised by a squad not including Kemar Roach, the spearhead who for years has prioritised red-ball cricket by playing for Surrey in the County Championship when not on Test duty. Leaving out a bowler with 284 Test wickets and an expressed hunger to continue feels a self-defeating move. Shamar Joseph will get his next shot against Australia after his magic Gabba performance, Jayden Seales has a prodigious early record but has struggled against this side, and Alzarri Joseph will have to lead the attack stacked with less experienced operators.
Roston Chase is the new captain ahead of his 50th Test, and West Indies coach Daren Sammy says that the changes in the squad are part of his side taking a new form and heading into a new era. For Australia, those shifts in a batting configuration that is yet to settle into a coherent form mean that something similar is under way. At the very least, it will be a strange week looking at that upper to middle order.
