Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Football
Netball
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
In-form Labuschagne admits Test axing “needed to happen”
SEN • November 4th, 2025 8:52 pm
Marnus Labuschagne admits that his Test axing could have been the best thing that’s happened to his career.
The 31-year-old was dropped for the three-Test tour of the West Indies in June and July following a 16-Test period where he failed to reach triple figures.
Having been ranked as the world’s No. 1 Test batsman as recently as mid-2023, the last two years simply weren’t up to the high standards that the Queenslander sets for himself.
While that axing wouldn’t have been easy to take, Labuschagne says it’s provided him the perfect opportunity to work on his game, which he’s clearly done well, scoring five tons already across red and white ball cricket for Queensland to start the domestic season.
That brilliant form has seemingly secured an Ashes recall already, and while his re-entry into the team could come at the expense of Sam Konstas, Labuschagne is certain that the youngster will end up being a star for Australia once he truly learns his game.
“Firstly, I think it’s something that needed to happen for me to get to where I am today,” Labuschagne told reporters on Monday following his One Day century against New South Wales.
“Because I think while you’re still playing (in the Test team) and you get scrutinised, it’s hard to get clarity on where you want your game to be and how you want to do that.
“As a player, the way I always play is ‘OK, I’ll just keep training, I’ll keep training.’ And that was just not the right plan.
“(Getting dropped) was something that really needed to happen for me to find my best and I said it before the first game that if I’m playing at my best, I don’t need to worry about anything else.
“Sammy is so talented, we’ve seen that. For him, he’s young, and this is first-class cricket, it’s not easy. Especially batting at the top, understanding the conditions, and understanding your game.
“He’ll learn his game and when he does learn when to push, when to pull, when to tuck, when to defend and use all his shots, he’s going to be a very, very good player for Australia.”
With five tons across just eight knocks to start this season, Labuschagne thinks he’s in the best form he’s felt since a stint for Glamorgan in 2019, which ultimately saw him called into that year’s Ashes side… from there, he didn’t look back for six years.
"The only one I can think of is probably 2019 at Glamorgan as a period of time," Labuschagne said.
"But probably not across both formats.
"With both formats I feel like batting is in a really nice place, just trusting my skills and trusting myself out there … It's all coming together.”
Labuschagne looks a certainty to be named in Australia’s first Ashes Test squad, which is due to be announced imminently.
