Calls for Marnus Labuschagne to be axed from Aussie Test side over 'inexplicable' act

Marnus Labuschagne is facing calls to be dropped from Australia's Test side after a worrying run of form was compounded by a moment to forget on day three of the first match against India in Perth. Labuschagne's LBW for just three - after he failed to offer a shot off the bowling of Jasprit Bumrah - compounded one of the worst days in recent memory for the Aussies on home soil.

India piled on the runs to ram home their advantage, with Yashasvi Jaiswal hitting a stunning 161 and Virat Kohli playing himself back into form with an unbeaten century to see the tourists stretch their lead well past 500. The Indians then struck three times in the final session to leave Australia reeling at 3-12, still 522 runs in arrears of the rampant tourists.

Bumrah was almost unplayable at times in the first innings and he showed no let-up in the second innings, striking early to remove Test debutant Nathan McSweeney for a four-ball duck. Skipper Pat Cummins sent himself in as a nightwatchman late in the final session but he was out for two, edging one off Mohammed Siraj to Kohli in the slips.

That brought Labuschagne to the crease and the out-of-sorts batter would have been hoping just to get to stumps and put a disastrous day for the home side behind them. However, things got even worse for Labushagne and the Aussies when the 30-year-old failed to play a shot at a superb ball from Bumrah that swung in and hit him on the pads, plum in front.

Labuschagne consulted with Usman Khawaja briefly before sending the umpire's LBW decision up for review, but it seemed out of desperation and hope more than anything. Perhaps that could have been expected from a batter who had averaged less than 30 in Test cricket since the start of last year's Ashes series.

Calls for Marnus Labuschagne to be dropped amid poor form

Both the eye-opening review and Labuschagne's decision not to play at a shot against the relentless accuracy of Bumrah, saw the 30-year-old come under intense criticism from fans and cricket analysts. And after a painful first innings where Labuschagne toiled for 52 balls before being dismissed for two, many insisted the Aussie was simply not in good enough form to remain in the Test side.

“Inexplicable cricket from Marnus Labuschagne in that situation,” veteran cricket journalist Peter Lalor said on SEN radio. “How do you not use your bat when you’ve seen that this ball is skidding through?” SEN host Gerard Whateley said Labuschagne was batting like a man whose confidence was shot and that a stint back in Sheffield Shield might do him good.

“It’s a scrambled mind, it’s a lost technique," Whateley said. “You cannot go out there without the intention to use your bat. It’s so symbolic of where he finds himself in his game. He’s going to have to be relieved of his place in the team.” Lalor added: “Without a doubt, I don’t know how you can pick him for the next Test.”

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Former Aussie fast bowler Damien Fleming was also gobsmacked why Labuschagne chose to leave the delivery from Bumrah without even offering a shot and said it was simply "not good enough" from the Aussie batter. “You can handle paying a shot to a good ball and getting an outside edge,” he said. “That type of dismissal is just not good enough from your number three in a tough battle. It was a good length, it was just outside off stump, it didn’t do anything extreme.”

Labuschagne's last 10 innings make for shocking reading and only back up the calls for him to be dropped. He's scored 10, 1 not out, 3, 5, 1, 2, 90, 6, 2 and 3 for an average of just 13.66 across that period, with reserve batter Josh Inglis waiting in the wings for the Aussies if selectors decide to swing the axe.