“Labuschagne pretty much a lock-in in the top-four” – McDonald

Marnus Labuschagne came in as a last-minute replacement during Australia’s ODI series against South Africa, subbing in for Cameron Green in the first ODI as a concussion substitute. Nevertheless, his performances since then have been such that Labuschagne, who was not part of the preliminary squad for the World Cup, will now find his name among the first entries in the Australia XI during the competition in India.

Labuschagne scored 80 not out and 124 in the two wins Australia managed in South Africa before losing three on the trot, while he also found form in India in the Rajkot ODI, which his side won after losing the first two matches. Speaking about Labuschagne’s role in the scheme of things for the World Cup, head coach Andrew McDonald said he is “pretty much a lock in” among the Australian top four.

“It’s been a really good return after being dropped and not included in that South African squad. We were pretty clear on the way that we felt Marn needed to play to fit into the team. He went away and worked on that.” said McDonald. “I think he may have elaborated on that several days ago where he’s gone away. He’s had a think about it, he’s come back, and he’s come back a different player. There’s no doubt about that.

McDonald further elaborated on why Labuschagne was left out earlier, and credited him with extremely good work ethic, which helped him force his way back into the side, with a helping hand from serendipitous fate.

“We saw in the practice game against Pakistan, the early intent, the scoring options, you know, his innings are starting with great intent. And we love seeing that and we always knew he was capable of that but over an extended period of time, prior to his dropping, he wasn’t doing that.

“He was getting that information. And as I said full credit to him. He’s gone away and worked on his game and it’s a great story. If you’re looking for whether he’s a certain starter; if he’s not in your team, I don’t know who else you’re gonna put in there. So I think he’s pretty much a lock-in in that top four and how we structure up is the final question that we need to answer.”

Australia, meanwhile, have a concern in the form of Marcus Stonis’s availability for the opening game, with the all-rounder nursing a hamstring complaint. Adam Zampa, meanwhile, is good to go, said McDonald, after the legspinner had pulled up sore earlier.

“Zampa is not as big of a concern. His is more workload management. He did pull up sore from the second game in the ODI series, but nothing significant. Marcus Stoinis, a little bit different. He’s got a slight hamstring complaint at this stage. So that’s why he missed the practice games and he’ll be touch and go for the first game against India. We’ve got the main session today and then got another hit out tomorrow. He’ll go through his work there and we’ll see whether he’s available for selection for game one, but at the moment he wasn’t fit and available for those practice games.

About Marcus Stoinis’s injury status, McDonald said: “That happened, after the Mohali game – he pulled up a little bit sore. And then further investigation led to that being a slight hamstring (strain). And then he’s just rehabbing. As I said, he’ll be touch and go for game one. He certainly hasn’t been ruled out, but we weren’t prepared to risk in those practice games. So he’s probably been slow, played a little bit with the view to these next couple of days being really important for him to press for selection for game one, and we’ll see how that unfolds.”

Regarding Travis Head, who is part of the squad despite not fully recovering from a fractured arm, McDonald said he will continue his preparation training at home, with an update expected within a week.

“We’ll get updates from Trav pretty much every day. He’s pretty engaged with the group. Official updates, they’ll sort of happen, I think it’s around sort of the 11th or 12th of October where there’ll be another checkpoint with how he’s travelling with that sort of bone healing and that’ll probably give us a lot more information as to the final timeframes and when he potentially can join the group. Until we get that information then he’ll remain at home training and sort of prepping his body as much as he can, back home.”

McDonald was also pleased with the way Maxwell has progressed so far since his return and expressed confidence in his continued availability for the World Cup. “Yes, so far, so good. As I said, that Pakistan game, the way that he pulled up on the back of that was really positive. And we’ve got some decent gaps in between as well, which is unlike the sort of bilateral series where it’s quite condensed with short turnarounds. In a World Cup you’ve got a bit more space, a bit more time for recovery. So we feel as though he’ll be able to cope with the demands of what the World Cup presents.”