‘There’s a reason I’m still here’: Labuschagne’s vow in fight to save career

September 18, 2026 — 12:04pmMarnus Labuschagne is a man under siege, but insists he is not a spent force on the international stage as he fights to save his career in the Baggy Green.As he prepares to captain Queensland in their first one-day clash of the season against Victoria on Saturday, the Test No.3 also felt he still had a role to play in Australia’s limited overs side ahead of next year’s World Cup, despite being omitted from the squads to face Zimbabwe and South Africa.Labuschagne burst onto the scene in the Test arena and was at one stage ranked as the world’s best batsman. But his form woes over the past three years have been well documented – scoring just one century since the start of the 2023 Ashes, and averaging 26.27 since the start of that series.Marnus Labuschagne insists his game is “in good order”.Getty ImagesThose woes continued in August’s two-Test series against Bangladesh, with scores of one and 31 in Darwin followed by a limp dismissal for four in Mackay in which he strayed across his off stump and watched the ball cannon off his thigh guard and into his pegs.It has triggered widespread criticism and left his future in the side on shaky ground, with the likes of Australian great Ricky Ponting questioning his selection for the forthcoming three-Test series against the Proteas next month.Labuschagne, however, stressed the chatter had not fazed him, as he vowed to right those wrongs in South Africa.“Criticism is part of the job if you want to be an international player. You can’t be sitting here going ‘I’m upset because people are criticising me’, no one is criticising my character or my personality or who I am and what I stand for,” Labuschagne said on Friday, speaking from Allan Border Field as Queensland Cricket celebrated their 150th year.“They’re criticising my performance, and I’m the one who’s allowed that; because of the lack of performance, I’ve opened myself up to criticism. There’s clearly a reason why I’m still there, and I think the people who are in charge know that and know what I’ve done in the past for Australia.“How I’ve performed the past two years is clearly not my standard and where I want to be, and I’m doing everything possible to make sure I get back there during this series in South Africa.”Labuschagne began the last domestic summer tipped to end his run of poor outputs on the biggest stage after striking two Sheffield Shield tons and four one-day centuries for the Bulls before the Ashes. But his inability to transfer that into the national colours cost him his 50-over spot.Marnus Labuschagne pictured for Australian in one-day cricket.APFrom 23 ODI matches since the start of 2024, he has averaged just 21.88, having impressed as a middle order staple in 2023 (826 runs at 45.89). But the 32-year-old has sought a “silver lining” in his omission, adamant his chance to impress for Queensland and the opportunity to work closely with new Bulls coach James Hopes had given him ideal preparation time for South Africa.“Obviously, it’s always disappointing when you don’t get selected for Australia, but I’m also pretty experienced now, and I know my performances haven’t been where I needed them in international one-day cricket,” Labuschagne said.“Last year I showed I’m playing very good domestic one-day cricket, and I’m not coming out here needing to prove to anyone I’m a good enough player.“Out here, I want to score as many runs as I can, and any runs you score is going to be good for your confidence and get me into a really good space going into South Africa, regardless of the format.”While a lack of replacements for Labuschagne in the Test arena has seemingly sparred him – Nathan McSweeney and Kurtis Patterson among those not taken, with spin-bowling allrounder Cooper Connolly instead called upon – his dearth of one-day runs opened the door for fellow Queenslander Matt Renshaw to become a three-format player.The 30-year-old earned a recall to the Test squad as an opener in place of Jake Weatherald, while he struck his maiden ODI hundred against Zimbabwe this week as a middle order anchor.Former Test star Usman Khawaja, who has locked himself in for another Big Bash campaign with the Brisbane Heat, believed Renshaw could be a long-term staple across all formats for Australia.“I think Matty is an unbelievable talent; he’s got all the gears, which he didn’t have growing up. He had the lower gears, but he didn’t have the higher gears,” Khawaja said.“He’s a big boy, he can hit a big ball, which is beautiful when you’ve got a guy coming in at six who can bat normally – he’s a Test opener – but then also have the power.“When he was playing white ball cricket for the last maybe year or so – T20 cricket then into one-day cricket – I thought there was no better time for him to play Test cricket again, when you’re playing all three formats.“He’s always been a terrific player, but Test cricket is always a different level – it’s always a bit tougher, there’s a lot that goes into it off the field in particular – so I have no doubt he’ll do well.”Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.From our partners