Marnus Labuschagne marked his first appearance in the 2025 County Championship with two failures for Glamorgan as his Test place comes under increasing pressure ahead of the World Test Championship final.
Labuschagne was playing the first of two Championship fixtures he's available for at Glamorgan, in preparation for the World Test Championship final next month. Having come in to bat at No.3 following a first innings capitulation to 185 all-out by Northants, Labuschagne got his spell in the UK underway with a seven-ball duck. He was bowled by his compatriot Harry Conway, who is currently Northants' highest wicket-taker in the Championship.
Despite Glamorgan's dominant position in the game, needing just 66 in the final innings to win, Labuschagne got another opportunity. He came to the crease again when opener Zain-ul-Hasan was dismissed for two, joining other opener Asa Tripe. However, his stay at the crease only lasted one more ball than in the previous innings. He was dismissed by Ben Sanderson having scored four runs.
Glamorgan went on to win the game by eight wickets, with captain Sam Northeast seeing the side home.
Match 51, Glamorgan vs Northamptonshire
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Marnus Labuschagne's poor form continues
Labschagne's failures further compound the pressure he's facing over his place in Australia's Test side. Despite being named in their squad for the World Test Championship final, he's not guaranteed to keep his long held position in their final XI. Fit again Cameron Green – who scored a century for Gloucestershire in his own County Championship stint yesterday (May 18) – is potentially in line to return to the side, meaning space may need to be found to allow for him to play as a specialist batter.
Labuschagne has seen his Test numbers fall significantly since 2022, and he hasn't scored a century in the format for almost two years. He averaged 25.77 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year, and had a top score of 26* in Australia's most recent Test series in Sri Lanka. Should Australia opt to bring Green back and to go with another option at the top of the order alongside Usman Khawaja other than Labuschagne, he could find himself out of the side.
Glamorgan will begin their fixture against Middlesex in Cardiff later this week, with Labuschagne set to make his final first-class appearance before the WTC final against South Africa.
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