"We just haven't seen enough of it consistently" - Chief selector George Bailey on why Marnus Labuschagne missed World Cup ticket

Former Australian captain and current chief selector George Bailey has opened up on why the Aussies have left out Marnus Labuschagne from their 18-man squad for the ODI World Cup announced on Monday.

Bailey stressed on Labuschagne's inconsistency as the main reason for missing out. After a promising start to his ODI career, the right-hander just tapered off in the last few ODI games, averaging just a tad above 31 after 30 games.

However, George Bailey has made it clear that Marnus Labuschagne will be a part of the Australia A side that will play three ODIs against New Zealand A in September. Here's what Bailey told reporters:

"We know Marnus at his best is good enough to hold down a spot in the one-day team, we just haven't seen enough of it consistently in the role that we'd like him to do. We've been really clear with Marnus; he's going to be part of some Australia A games at the same time so he can focus on some white-ball cricket."

---

Marnus Labuschagne might still have an outside chance

George Bailey's claim of Labuschagne playing for the A side has shown that the latter might still have a glimmer of hope of making it to Australia's World Cup squad. The final deadline for submitting the names of 15 members for the World Cup will be September 28.

On this, Bailey stated:

"Clearly the squad that we've got going to South Africa have the front-running for that. But Marnus, the age that he is and the skillset he has, we've got no doubt that he'll play a part in one-day cricket in the future. I couldn't give you a time on when that will be, but certainly we know at his best he can play a really important role."

With the three A games and also a couple of Marsh One-Day Cup games potentially available, Marnus Labuschagne might just have an outside chance of giving a final push for his spot before the deadline.

​