'That's the key, isn't it?': Why Australia have opted to stick with Labuschagne

[p]The right-hander, who was born in South Africa, was dropped ‌from the one-day squad for a tour of southern Africa last week but retained in the 16-strong party ‌which will play tests in Durban, Gqeberha and Cape Town in October.[/p][p]All-rounder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/connolly-cooper/jPqaRayb/"]Cooper ‌Connolly[/a], paceman [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/neser-michael/zmcdswRm/"]Michael Neser[/a] and left-arm spinner [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kuhnemann-matthew/0jKO4R9p/"]Matthew Kuhnemann[/a] are the additions to the squad ‌that lost a first test on home soil to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bangladesh/2of97jms/"]Bangladesh[/a] last month before ‌rallying to level the series.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/labuschagne-marnus/0QSnItBN/"]Labuschagne[/a]'s 36 runs over three innings in the Bangladesh series had many questioning the seven-year grip he has held on the number three spot in the batting order, although he does ‌have a decent record in South Africa.[/p][p]"[b]Not shying away ⁠from the fact that we'd like some ‌more runs from Marn, that's clear. But we're also confident that he can still make a ​positive contribution to that squad,[/b]" chief selector George Bailey told reporters.[/p][p]"[b]Our batting group in its entirety, not just Marn, probably hasn't been functioning as successfully as ​we would like, but ... we've continued to win a lot of test matches over that over that period, and that, ultimately, is the key, isn't it?[/b]"[/p][embed guid="ad122168-0176-454b-bfbc-994154cfdbc0" url="https://x.com/cricinfo/status/2096864800274018801" social-type="twitter" /][p]Connolly has not ⁠bowled for the last few months ​and Bailey said the 23-year-old had primarily been selected for his middle-order batting.[/p][p]Neser, also born in South Africa, missed the Bangladesh series because of a calf injury but Bailey was confident the 36-year-old would be fit and firing by the time the series starts in ‌Durban on October 9.[/p][p]"(He's) [b]sort of just be getting back to the point of getting reintegration back to bowling and getting those loads up over the next few weeks,[/b]" he said.[/p][p]"[b]But as it stands, barring any setbacks, the timeline is pretty clear that he should be right to go.[/b]"[/p][embed guid="03d482ea-54ab-4b8c-9f18-bf5e43ea8e2a" url="https://x.com/7Cricket/status/2091048397872808125" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/short-matthew/K6i23oVb/"]Matthew Renshaw[/a], who was brought in to replace [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/weatherald-jake/dOjJmLji/"]Jake Weatherald[/a] as opening partner for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/head-travis/EiBJThAd/"]Travis Head[/a] for the second test in the Bangladesh series, also retained his place in the squad.[/p][p]The series opener at Kingsmead will be the first test meeting between the countries in South Africa since the infamous ball-tampering affair at ‌Newlands in 2018.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/australia/OxG0JfXg/"]Australia[/a] can expect plenty of banter from the crowd but Bailey said ​he hoped the focus would remain on the cricket.[/p][p]"[b]I think the crowds are ‌always enthusiastic in South Africa,[/b]" Bailey said.[/p][p]"[b]It's been a long time since we've played test cricket over there. It's two pretty strong teams, certainly two very, very strong bowling attacks, and I expect the fans to support that enthusiastically and watch some great cricket.[/b]"[/p][p][i][b]Squad[/b][/i]: Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, ⁠Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew ⁠Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael ‌Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster[/p]