Marnus Labuschagne (left) and Steve Smith have failed to shine in the World Test Championship final against South Africa.
“Marnus at his best can be a really important member of this team,” Bailey said. “He understands his output hasn’t been at the level we, or he, expects. We will continue working with him on the areas of his game we feel he needs to rediscover. We continue to value his skill and expect him to work through the challenge positively.”
Sam Konstas has been considered as his replacement, while Steven Smith, who suffered a compound dislocation of his right little finger while fielding in the slip cordon against South Africa, has been ruled out. Josh Inglis has been named as his replacement.
Labuschagne was promoted to bat as an opener in the World Test Championship final against South Africa. But his inability to put any pressure back on the South African bowlers left many pundits unimpressed. He fell for 17 and 22 in both innings.
Inglis has been considered on the back of his century in Galle, Sri Lanka, on his Test debut earlier this year, while Konstas scored a fluent half-century at the MCG on Boxing Day against India.
“Steve needs more time for the wound to heal so we’ll give him another week’s rest and assess his functionality after that,” Bailey said. “We have made the decision to give Josh and Sam the opportunity to replace Steve and Marnus. We are excited to see them get the chance to further their fledgling Test careers.”
Australia are set to play a three-match Test series and a five-match T20Is against West Indies in the Caribbean.
