Australia have dropped opener Jake Weatherald after their shock home loss to Bangladesh but retained Marnus Labuschagne for the must-win second Test.
Weatherald is the only change in Australia’s 13-man squad for the second Test in Mackay, beginning Saturday, where the hosts will look to level the two-Test series after a humbling nine-wicket defeat in Darwin.
Bangladesh’s first-ever Test win in Australia put pressure on the national cricket selectors for an overhaul of their aging line-up, with Weatherald replaced by Matt Renshaw in a bid to stabilise the top order.
Weatherald was out for 23 in the first innings and did not score in the second innings of his hometown Test, leaving him averaging 20.36 in his 12 Test innings, with Renshaw a likely contender to replace him to open with Travis Head.
Matt Renshaw is a regular for Australia in ODI and T20 cricket but has not played a Test since 2023
“There was some change to Jake in terms of where he lined up and his movement patterns,” coach Andrew McDonald said of Weatherald. “It’s always hard to critique small sample sizes on whether it holds up [at international level].
“He dragged one on and drove at one in the first innings and was dismissed; it’s probably harder with that smaller sample size to say, ‘Yep, that’s going to hold up under pressure’. But there was some change though.”
Renshaw made his debut in 2016 and played 11 Tests before being dropped in 2018, then was recalled in 2023 for three Tests, but has only played in the shorter formats for Australia since.
He averages 29.31 with one century in 14 Tests although he impressed for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield last season, scoring three centuries among his 499 runs from six matches.
Marnus Labuschagne, who scored one and 31, was retained in the squad despite averaging 25.23 from his last 42 Test innings and not making an international century in nearly three years.
Marnus Labuschagne last made a Test century in July 2023
“It’s easy for me to sit here and try to defend that [Labuschagne’s form],” McDonald added. “But ultimately, it’s 31. It’s not a big score. He’s lacked runs. He feels that. We feel that. We’re working incredibly hard as a coaching group … we’ve got to get the best out of Marn as well.
“He’s had a bit of a lull. He knows that he’s gone to work. I think we saw some change in the way that he played, so that’s good. Some of that work that he had done feels as though it’s stuck up under pressure.”
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.
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