Marnus Labuschagne finished his year with a double failure at the MCG, leaving him with the lowest average for a top four Australia batter in a calendar year since 1981.
Labuschagne has had a tricky year in Test cricket. He began 2025 with his place under threat after two single-digit dismissals in Sydney during the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was dropped after the World Test Championship final, having failed to make it out of the 20s in his first seven innings of the year.
However, after missing Australia's Test series in the West Indies with Cameron Green moving up to No.3 while he was unable to bowl, Labuschagne mounted a comeback. He scored two centuries in the Sheffield Shield and averaged 47.33 ahead of the Ashes, and hit three List A hundreds from his first four matches of the season. When Australia announced their XI for the first Test in Perth, Labuschagne was recalled, having made an unequivocal case for his inclusion.
ALSO READ: How Marnus Labuschagne, once world No.1, slipped out of Australia's Test team
Despite being dismissed for nine in his first innings of the series, Labuschagne's domestic form initially looked to carry over into the Test arena. He hit back-to-back half-centuries in his following two innings, finishing unbeaten on 51 at Perth and hitting 65 in the first innings at Brisbane. However, his returns have nosedived since, with his next five innings reading: 3, 19, 13, 6, 8.
At the MCG on a tough batting surface, Labuschagne nicked off to Josh Tongue for six on Boxing Day and fell to an almost identical dismissal on day two. He was visibly unhappy about the dismissal, however, after the third umpire deemed Joe Root to have taken a clean catch on review.
That dismissal marked the end of Labuschagne's final innings in Test cricket in 2025, with the fifth Ashes Test set to take place in the New Year. Labsuchagne's Test average for the year is sealed at 20.84 – the third lowest for a top four Australia batter in history. It's the lowest average for a top four Australia batter in a calendar this century, with the overall record (18.86) being set by John Dyson in 1981.
Full list: Lowest averages by top four batters for Australia in a calendar year
| Player | Innings | Runs | HS | Average | 100s | 50s | Year |
| John Dyson | 15 | 283 | 102 | 18.86 | 1 | 0 | 1981 |
| Colin McDonald | 15 | 295 | 89 | 19.66 | 0 | 2 | 1956 |
| Marnus Labuschagne | 15 | 271 | 65 | 20.84 | 0 | 2 | 2025 |
| Michael Clarke | 15 | 322 | 80 | 21.46 | 0 | 2 | 2010 |
| David Boon | 19 | 428 | 110 | 22.52 | 1 | 2 | 1995 |
| Andrew Hilditch | 18 | 452 | 85 | 25.11 | 0 | 4 | 1979 |
| Usman Khawaja | 18 | 415 | 75 | 25.93 | 0 | 2 | 2024 |
| Phil Hughes | 15 | 404 | 126 | 26.93 | 1 | 1 | 2011 |
| Neil Harvey | 16 | 456 | 140 | 28.50 | 1 | 3 | 1956 |
| David Warner | 20 | 573 | 164 | 28.65 | 1 | 2 | 2023 |
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