“Should be replaced for the second Test in Adelaide” – Former Australia speedster on under-fire Marnus Labuschagne amid BGT 2024-25
Former Australia pacer Mitchell Johnson has issued a blunt message for under-fire batter Marnus Labuschagne ahead of the Pink-ball Test in Adelaide, which starts on December 6. Johnson wants the Cricket Australia management to drop Labuschagne after returning with scores of 2 (52) and 3 (5) in the first Test in Perth, where Australia lost by 295 runs to go 0-1 down in the five-game series. Those were his seventh and eighth single-digit scores in 2024.
Labuschagne has been dismal with the bat this year. The right-handed batter has managed 245 runs in six Tests at an average of 24.50, including three half-centuries.
Mitchell Johnson wrote in his column for The Nightly (via India Today):
"Marnus Labuschagne - after a lengthy poor run with the bat - should be replaced for the second Test in Adelaide. And that's not for the sake of having someone pay the price for the thrashing in Perth.”
Johnson reckoned that Labuschagne needs to go back to the drawing board and play the Sheffield Shield instead of looking clueless against India speedster Jasprit Bumrah. He added:
"It would give him a chance to play some Sheffield Shield and club cricket away from the pressure of playing for your country. I feel he would benefit from that more than going out there trying to survive against Jasprit Bumrah and co.”
Labuschgane has 780 runs in 11 Tests against India, including a ton and three half-centuries.
“Steve Smith’s form is a serious concern” – Mitchell Johnson on Australia star's dwindling numbers in Tests
Mitchell Johnson also raised the alarm regarding Steve Smith’s declining numbers in Tests. He wrote in the aforementioned column:
"Steve Smith's form is a serious concern. He looks like he has lost his sharpness we are used to, missing balls on his pads that in the past were easy runs.”
Steve Smith returned with a golden duck and 17 off 60 in the first Test. In 2024, he has managed 230 runs in six Tests at an average of 25.56, comprising a solitary half-century.
Smith, however, enjoys a brilliant track record against India, scoring 2,059 runs in 20 Tests at an average of 62.39, including nine tons and five fifties.