Labuschagne not in World Cup picture after being axed for dress rehearsal: Bailey

[p]The South African-born batsman has ‌been a stalwart of the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/australia/OxG0JfXg/"]Australia[/a] ODI team since 2022 and helped them win a ‌sixth World Cup in India three years ago.[/p][p]The 32-year-old right-hander averages ‌21.87 with a high score of 77 not out in the 50-over format ‌since the start of 2024, however, and there was no place ‌for him in the 17-man squad for six ODIs announced on Tuesday.[/p][p]Chief selector George Bailey declined to speculate on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/labuschagne-marnus/0QSnItBN/"]Labuschagne[/a]'s future in the test team, which is also ‌under threat after a poor run of form, ⁠but stressed the importance of the ‌upcoming ODI tour for World Cup preparations.[/p][p]"[b]We're separating those formats out so this was ​a one-day cricket conversation,[/b]" he told reporters via a video call.[/p][p]"[b]I think this is a pretty important tour for us. It's ​hard to get the link, but [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/zimbabwe/pCUnmKBm/"]Zimbabwe[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/south-africa/tUhlKzIm/"]South Africa[/a], that's where the World Cup will be played late next year.[/b][/p][p]"There's not a whole ⁠lot of (ODI) games (before that) and ​the opportunity that's ... awarded to some of those other players to continue building out their roles ... will be really important.[/p][p]"(Marnus), [b]again, he's played some really important one-day cricket for us, at his best. That looks a certain ‌way, but the way that squad and team is structuring up, there just wasn't space for him.[/b]"[/p][embed guid="4190c21a-44c0-4e73-b51f-12806c54424a" url="https://x.com/CricCrazyJohns/status/2094603545312133389" social-type="twitter" /][p]All-rounder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/marsh-mitchell/UovVueNf/"]Mitchell Marsh[/a], opener [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/head-travis/EiBJThAd/"]Travis Head[/a] and paceman [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hazlewood-josh/zkKrMn0r/"]Josh Hazlewood[/a] all return to the squad after missing Australia's most recent ODI outings against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bangladesh/2of97jms/"]Bangladesh[/a].[/p][p]Fast bowlers [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cummins-patrick/nXoaKQUf/"]Pat Cummins[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/starc-mitchell/CQX4De2l/"]Mitchell Starc[/a] will join the squad for the three ODIs against South Africa, which follow a similar number of matches in Zimbabwe.[/p][p]Uncapped [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/davies-oliver/8OU93cS7/"]Joel Davies[/a] and fellow youngsters [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hairs-oliver/KCIhbigN/"]Oliver Peake[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/connolly-cooper/jPqaRayb/"]Cooper Connolly[/a] were all included in the party for the tour, ‌which begins against Zimbabwe in Harare on September 15.[/p][p]The squad for the ​three tests in South Africa in October will be named later ‌this month.[/p][p]"[b]We just we're still working through what that test squad is going to look like and exactly what we feel we'll need in South Africa,[/b]" said Bailey.[/p][embed guid="0c035695-f5f9-4d94-9495-c5a22b30a00a" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udNj_h1IQ-E" social-type="youtube" /][h2][i]Australia ODI squad:[/i][/h2][p]Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Pat Cummins, Joel Davies, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis ⁠Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, ⁠Mitchell Marsh, Oliver Peake, Matt ‌Renshaw, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa[/p][p] [/p]