Australia defeated New Zealand in the first Test of the 2-match series. Powered by Nathan Lyon and Cameron Green’s performances, Australia sealed the game on Day 4 in Wellington on Sunday, 3 March.
The match saw several ups and downs, with batters from both sides performing poorly. One of Australia’s worst performers in the game was Marnus Labuschagne, registering 1 and 2 in respective innings of the game. Marnus continued his rough patch of form in the first Test match of the series and has now gone 14 innings without scoring a hundred. Marnus’ last hundred came in July 2023 in the Ashes series away from home.
Australia captain Pat Cummins backed the right-hander and said that Marnus’ position was not under threat in the Australian Test team.
“Absolutely not, (on Marnus’s position being under threat). He would be the first to admit he would like to score some more runs, and it is not through a lack of trying in the nets. Particularly in the second innings, it was just one of those down leg,” Cummins said in the post match press conference.
“We are very clear that these six guys are the best six batters in Australia. Although at times it might not have clicked all at once, the story of our team has been someone’s been able to stand up when they need to. Everyone’s going well,” Cummins added after the match.
Marnus’ current Test average has dropped down below 50. The batter has 4018 runs from 49 Test matches. He has 11 hundreds to his name and has the highest score of 215 runs.
