London [UK], June 11 : Australia's Marnus Labuschagne finds himself in a challenging phase of his international career, with persistent struggles against left-arm seamers once again highlighted in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. On Wednesday, at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground, South African pacer Marco Jansen dismissed Labuschagne for 17, reaffirming a trend that has troubled the Australian batter in recent years.
Labuschagne was caught behind off Jansen's delivery, edging one through to wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne, who made no mistake in completing the catch. The right-hander's cautious innings of 17 runs came off 56 balls and included just a solitary boundary.
This latest failure further highlights Labuschagne's ongoing difficulties against left-arm seamers in Test cricket. Since 2022, he has scored only 104 runs off 271 balls against left-arm fast bowlers, with six dismissals, three each from deliveries coming over and around the wicket, leaving him with an average of just 17.33 in this matchup.
While Labuschagne has maintained a presence in the Australian middle order throughout the current WTC cycle (2023-25), his returns have been modest by his standards. Across 20 matches in the cycle, he has accumulated 952 runs, including one century and eight half-centuries, a notable dip from his earlier prolific form.
Coming to the match, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bowl first. A fiery opening spell by Kagiso Rabada set the tone for South Africa, who ended the first session of day one.
Openers Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne struggled against the movement generated by Proteas quicks Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, and the ball beat their bats plenty of times.
In the seventh over, Rabada dealt Aussies a huge blow as Khawaja, the team's top run-getter in this WTC cycle, perished for a 20-ball duck. A thick edge off his bat went into the hands of David Bedingham at slips. Australia was 12/1 in 6.3 overs.
Cameron Green came to bat at number three. Australia's move to have a new-look top-order backfired as after a four, a fine catch by Aiden Markram at slips removed him from the equation for just four runs in three balls. Australia was 16/2 in seven overs.
Smith was with Marnus Labuschagne at the crease. The duo started to build a partnership, taking on South African bowlers well, who also had their moments. Smith got some boundaries against pace, keeping the scoreboard ticking.
Just when things looked to settle down, one, Labuschagne edged one to wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreyne, dismissed for 17 in 56 balls. Australia was 46/3 in 18 overs. Marco Jansen got his first wicket.
Aussies' hopes now rested on heroes of the 2023 WTC final against India, Smith and Travis Head. A fine slash by Head helped Australia reach the 50-run mark in 20 overs.
However, Jansen put an end to Head's brief appearance, removing him for 11 in 13 balls after being caught by the keeper. Australia was 67/4 and the lunch was taken at that point.
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