Marnus Labuschagne of Australia walks off the field after being dismissed by Mohammed Siraj of India (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
There has been a lot of chatter in the media about Marnus Labuschagne and his woeful form in Test cricket this year. While the Australian number 3 has averaged just 24.5 in six matches in 2024 and looked tentative and hopelessly out of touch in the series opener against India at Perth, he is not only one in the line-up who has had a tough time with the bat in the last 12-18 months. Steven Smith, Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh all average in their 20s in the calendar year suggesting that all is not well with Australia’s top and middle order.
RG does a deep-dive on Australia’s no-show with the bat in Test cricket in 2024.
The worst top 6 in 2024
Australia’s top 6 average a shocking 29.01 in 2024 which places them at number 8 – even Afghanistan’s top and middle order have fared better in the calendar year! Only Zimbabwe, West Indies, Bangladesh and Ireland have worst corresponding averages.
Collectively, Australia’s top 6 have scored just two hundreds and nine fifties in 2024 and failed in 36 of 67 innings which is a failure rate of almost 54% - very high for a side which is still comfortably the number 1 ranked Test team in the world!
Australia’s batting problems started from their tour of India in February 2023. Since then, the team collectively averages 28 with the bat which places them as low as number 6 after Sri Lanka, England, India, Pakistan and New Zealand.
Labuschagne & Smith – how the mighty have fallen
Labuschagne started his Test career with a bang rising to unprecedented heights shortly after making his debut in October, 2018. From the beginning of 2019 till the end of 2022, he had an aggregate of 2990 runs in 30 matches at an average of 62.3 with 10 hundreds and 13 fifties. Only Joe Root of England had scored more runs and registered more hundreds than Labuschagne in this four-year time-frame.
Labuschagne’s decline in form started from the home summer of 2022-23. He failed in two of the four innings against South Africa and registered just one fifty in eight innings in India. Since the start of 2023, Labuschagne has an aggregate of 1048 runs in 19 Tests at a paltry average of 31.75 with just one ton and seven fifties. His failure rate in this period is almost 50%!
Smith has also seen a drastic fall in his numbers since the Ashes Test at Leeds last July. From that encounter till date, the great Australian number 4 batter has scored just 589 runs in 11 Tests at an average of 31 with only four 50-plus scores and no tons in 22 innings! Smith has a high failure rate of 50% in this time-frame.
The simultaneous failure of Labuschagne and Smith – the two heavyweights in the Australian top-order – in the last 18 months has been the major reason for Australia’s dwindling fortunes with the bat in Test cricket.
Australia’s opening woes
Australia has used four different opening pairs in Test cricket in 2024. Post the retirement of David Warner, they pushed Smith to the top of the order to partner Usman Khawaja – a move that turned out to be a disaster. The duo could manage just 174 runs in eight innings at an average of 24.85 with one fifty-plus partnership. Overall, Australia’s average for the opening wicket of 23.5 places them at number 8 in 2024!
No major contributions in middle & lower order
Not only does Australia have problems with their opening combination and the top-order, their middle and lower-order is also massively short of runs this year. The swashbuckling Travis Head has an aggregate of 298 in 10 innings at an average of 29.8 with only two fifty-plus scores in 2024.
The worry for Australia is that a majority of their current playing XI are in the mid-30s and the bench strength or the younger crop that is coming up in Sheffield Shield cricket hasn’t really set the stage on fire.
The Pink Ball Test will be probably the biggest test for the likes of Smith, Labuschagne and Khawaja. If they fail, it might be the end of an era for Australia.
Nikhil Narain
