Shock Marnus report surfaces ahead of WTC final as brutal call on Konstas looms

Marnus Labuschagne is set to switch to opening the batting for Australia alongside Usman Khawaja for June’s World Test Championship final against South Africa.

The move would also force prodigy Sam Konstas, who burst onto the scene during the Test summer against India, out of the XI.

Labuschagne’s spot in Australia’s best team has come under increasing scrutiny due to a poor recent record, having reached triple figures just once in Tests since December 2022 and averaging just 30.8 in that time.

He did, however, score a crucial pair of 70s in Australia’s thrilling Boxing Day Test victory over India in December last year, a match more widely known for Konstas’ explosive international debut in which he repeatedly ramped champion fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah on his way to a run-a-ball 60 on Boxing Day itself.

However, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, Labuschagne will be given the nod to move up the order for the WTC final at Lord’s next month, with all-rounder Cameron Green also set to slot back into the team.

With a squad of 15 plus a reserve needed to be named for the final by Tuesday next week, selectors are reportedly putting the finishing touches on the group which will head to England and then on to the West Indies for a three-Test tour in late June and July.

The 30-year old was seen as a potential candidate to open the batting following the retirement of David Warner in early 2024, but the role was taken up by Steve Smith in an ill-fated move across four Tests against the Windies and New Zealand.

Debutant Nathan McSweeney was then trialled as Khawaja’s partner for a disastrous three-Test stint that yielded just 72 runs at 14.4, before Konstas divided opinion with his spectacular strokeplay but penchant to be dismissed in irresponsible fashion.

Sam Konstas takes a swing at the SCG. (Photo by Morgan Hancock – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)

He averaged 28.25 across two victorious Australian Tests in Melbourne and Sydney to help regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but was overlooked for the subsequent tour of Sri Lanka, with Travis Head continuing in his recent role of opener in Asian conditions.

Green, meanwhile, is set to feature at international level for the first time since a debilitating back injury in September 2024 ruled him out of the summer.

However, with the Western Australian available as a batter only, all-rounder Beau Webster is a near certainty to retain his place in the XI, having made a spectacular start to his Test career over the summer after years of Sheffield Shield dominace – though according to the SMH, Mitchell Marsh remains in contention for the Ashes over the 2025/26 summer owing to his exceptional record against England.

With Head and Smith middle-order locks and Alex Carey a certainty as wicketkeeper, there looks set to be no room in the XI for Josh Inglis despite the Western Australian’s century on Test debut against Sri Lanka, with the only consideration being who of Green and Smith takes Labuschagne’s vacated No.3 position.

Both Inglis and Konstas, however, are expected to travel to England as part of a squad of 17 for both the WTC final and the subsequent West Indies tour.

As for the bowlers, a six-man pace contingent is expected to be selected for the overseas tours, with frontliners Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc and long-term back-ups Scott Boland and Michael Neser set to be joined by Brendan Doggett, off the back of the South Australian quick’s outstanding Sheffield Shield summer and performances for Australia A against India.

Matt Kuhnemann, meanwhile, is set to leapfrog Todd Murphy as Nathan Lyon’s spin partner in favourable conditions, with the pair expected to play together throughout the tour of the West Indies.