"Would've liked to have seen Labuschagne move up to open" - Mark Taylor
Former Australian captain Mark Taylor has called for Marnus Labuschagne to open the innings in Test cricket instead of Steve Smith. The former Aussie opener believes Smith has been Australia's best player in the previous decade and must continue batting where he always has.
With David Warner retiring from Test cricket, Smith offered to open the innings and has been doing it since the home series against the West Indies, but got very little success.
Labuschagne, meanwhile, has been struggling for a few months now, having scored his last century in July, 2023. The right-hander also registered two single-figure scores in Wellington against New Zealand.
Speaking to Wide World of Sports, Taylor praised Smith for going up the order to accommodate Cameron Green, but reckons Labuschagne should have done it instead.
The 59-year-old elaborated:
"I like the fact Steve Smith put his hand up and said 'I want to be the opener, I'm going to be the one to move up the order because we want to get Cameron Green in the side' and that's been a great call really to get Cameron Green in because he made 174 not out in this Test match."
He added:
"I would've liked to have seen Labuschagne move up to open the batting because Steve Smith has been our best player and is our best player for the last decade so I would've liked to have seen Steve stay where he was and Marnus to move up but Marnus was less keen."
Green's shift to the No.4 spot paid rich dividends in Wellington against New Zealand. The all-rounder crafted a terrific knock of 174 in the first innings that became the cornerstone of Australia's 172-run victory.
"I'm not sure he'll want to move back down" - Mark Taylor on Steve Smith
Taylor also observed that Smith hasn't looked quite at his best despite amassing over 10000 runs in Test cricket.
The former Australian batter stated:
"I think Smithy is looking for a new challenge. He's got almost 10,000 Test match runs and I've just thought over the last year, 18 months, he hasn't looked quite at his best. I'm not sure he'll want to move back down because it'll be admitting defeat that it hasn't worked and don't forget in the last Test match at the Gabba he made 91 in the last innings."
Taylor added that Australia's middle-order batters must step up more in the near future.
"Smith said he'd do it and moved up, and it's a good move for the team and I think eventually it'll be a good move for Australia. Although our lower to middle order needs to do a little bit of work."
The Aussies won the first test by 172 runs. The second Test between Australia and New Zealand starts on March 8th in Christchurch.