Marnus Labuschagne gets into Australia's WC squad: His recent stats
Marnus Labuschagne has replaced injured all-rounder Ashton Agar in Australia's squad for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, starting on October 5. After being left out of the provisional squad, Labuschagne put up a series of impressive performances to forge his way to the final 15. Agar's calf injury also helped his cause. Here we look at Labuschagne's ODI stats.
Poor show ahead of the SA series
Labuschagne was enduring a lean patch in ODIs when the preliminary WC squad was announced. Heading into the South Africa series, he had a paltry average and strike rate of 24.28 and 74.23, respectively, in his last nine ODIs. As his overall ODI and List A record was not impressive either, the selectors did not give the nod to the batter initially.
Selectors in favor of power-hitting all-rounders
The availability of many batting all-rounders like Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Cameron Green, and Glenn Maxwell was also a major reason behind Labuschagne's axing. All these names can bat in the top six and score runs at a brisk rate besides contributing with the ball. In Sean Abbott, the Australian selectors have gone with another all-rounder in the squad.
Dream run in SA series
Labuschagne's fortunes changed in the SA ODI series earlier this month. He came in as a concussion substitute for Cameron Green in the series opener and smoked an unbeaten 93*-ball 80, taking his side home in a low-scoring thriller. He scored a ton in the second game and eventually finished the series as the highest run-getter (283 runs at 70.75).
Impressive show in India
As the WC happens to take place in India, the middle-order batters would be required to tackle spin well. Labuschagne aced the challenge in the recent ODI series against India as he finished with 138 runs at 46. With Travis Head missing the initial part of the WC due to a fractured hand, Labuschagne is likely to feature in Australia's first-choice XI.
Here are his ODI stats
Labuschagne, who debuted in ODIs in January 2020, has now gone past 1,200 runs in the format. In 38 ODIs, he averages 37.29, having slammed 1,268 runs. The tally includes two centuries as well, both against South Africa (50s: 8). On Asian soil, he has clobbered 485 ODI runs at 32.33 (50s: 3). He has a strike rate of 82.76 in this regard.
