“Should be replaced for the second Test in Adelaide”, Former Australian pacer asks for Marnus Labuschagne’s ouster from the Test team

Marnus Labuschagne continued with his poor run of form by scoring just five runs in two innings of the first Test match.

“Should be replaced for the second Test in Adelaide”, Former Australian pacer asks for Marnus Labuschagne’s ouster from the Test team

"Should be replaced for the second Test in Adelaide", Former Australian pacer asks for Marnus Labuschagne's ouster from the Test team (Via X)

Australian Cricket Team suffered a proper hammering in the first Test against India at the Optus Stadium in Perth by 295 runs. Australian batting order crumbled and their number three, Marnus Labuschagne, continued with his poor run of form by scoring just five runs in two innings of the Test match.

Former Aussie pacer, Mitchell Johnson has asked the team management to drop Labuschagne for the second Test match. He feels that it is not just replacing him for the result in Perth, but it would just give Marnus time to play domestic cricket and stay away from the pressure of playing international cricket.

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Johnson feels that playing in domestic cricket will help Marnus more than trying to negate the spell of Jasprit Bumrah.

Marnus Labuschagne – after a lengthy poor run with the bat – should be replaced for the second Test in Adelaide. And that’s not for the sake of having someone pay the price for the thrashing in Perth. It would give him a chance to play some Sheffield Shield and club cricket away from the pressure of playing for your country. I feel he would benefit from that more than going out there trying to survive against Jasprit Bumrah and co.

Mitchell Johnson wrote in his column for Nightly

Labuschagne seemed to have no intention to score runs as he scored just two runs off 52 deliveries in the first innings. He was getting hit all over the body and was getting frequently beaten.

He was then trapped in front of the stumps by Mohammed Siraj. In the next innings, Labuschagne misjudged an incoming delivery of Bumrah, shouldered arms to it and was again trapped in front of the wicket.

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Mitchell Johnson feels that dropping Marnus Labuschagne does not mean the end of the road in Test cricket

Johnson further backed his suggestion to drop Labuschagne from the team in the Adelaide Test and stated that it won’t be the end of his career in Test cricket, or that he is the wrong option to bat for Australia at number three. Labuschagne needs to stay away from the spotlight during this slump in form and score big runs in domestic cricket, per Johnson.

Mitchell Johnson feels that dropping Marnus Labuschagne does not mean the end of the road in Test cricket
Mitchell Johnson feels that dropping Marnus Labuschagne does not mean the end of the road in Test cricket (Via X)

Dropping Labuschagne would not mean he doesn’t still have a long future in the Test team or that he’s the wrong player to bat at three. For the time being, in this form slump, we need him to be better – which means making big runs.

Mitchell Johnson wrote in his column for Nightly.
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Johnson also feels that the form of Steve Smith is a concern for the Australian side. As per him, Smith has lost his sharpness and his ‘hand-eye coordination’. He is getting trapped in front of the wickets frequently. Earlier, he used to feast on those deliveries on the pads.