Marnus Labuschagne's woeful run continued as he was dismissed cheaply in Australia's World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2025 clash against South Africa. Temba Bavuma won the toss and the Proteas elected to field first on Wednesday, June 11.
Opening the batting for the very first time in Test cricket, Labuschagne failed to deliver an impactful performance. The 30-year-old departed in the opening session of Day 1 after scoring 17 runs off 56 balls.
Labuschagne's dismal form has been a big talking point. He has just 75 runs to his name from six innings at an average of 15 this year. The right-handed batter has performed underwhelmingly in the WTC 2023-25 cycle, averaging 28 after amassing 952 runs from 37 innings.
He perished to left-arm pacer Marco Jansen in the 18th over of Australia's first innings. The batter received a lot of flak on social media following the disappointing outing.
Here are some of the top reactions on X:
"Labuschagne needs to retire before his average falls below 40," wrote a fan.
"Turns out Labuschagne can never get set ! Whatever balls he consumes, is of 0 use whatsoever," commented a fan.
"When you open an innings and play 50-55 balls it is absolutely criminal to get out without scoring a half century at least. Marnus Labuschagne you should've," remarked another.
"Labuschagne should've left that lol. He's so dull to watch," chimed in yet another.
Australia find themselves in a spot of bother as South Africa run through their top order early on Day 1. At the time of writing, they are reeling at 66/3 after 22 overs. Steve Smith (24* off 46) and Travis Head (10* off 10) have the responsibility of steading the ship for their team after the shaky start.
Marco Jansen got Marnus Labuschagne caught behind to provide South Africa with a massive breakthrough on Day 1 of WTC 2025 final
Marnus Labuschagne went into a shell in the morning session. Before departing, he faced 19 back-to-back dot balls, which were followed by a sharp bouncer from Marco Jansen that hit his shoulder and rolled away to the fence for four.
Jansen followed the short-pitched delivery with a good-length ball outside the off-stump. Labuschagne got an outside edge as he ended up poking at it.
Keeper Kyle Verreynne completed the catch and Labuschange had to depart after a scratchy knock. He struck just one boundary from 56 balls during his stay at the crease.
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