‘Never seen that’: Marnus Labuschagne divides cricket fans with wild captaincy move

Marnus Labuschagne has raised more than a few eyebrows with a bizarre bowling spell in Queensland’s opening game of the new Sheffield Shield season. The Bulls captain kept both the batsman and his teammates on their toes with a truly odd fielding choice and some wild bouncers.

Labushagne brought himself into the bowling attack with Queensland needing a breakthrough as Western Australia recovered to 4-207 after the Bulls had them just 3-18 following an early onslaught from two-Test seamer Michael Neser (5-48 off 22 overs). Labuschagne kept things tight despite some erratic bowling, with only two runs scored off his three overs.

However, fans were quick to question if a certain fielding move was legal after Labuschagne grabbed young quick Tom Straker by the pants and pulled him directly behind the stumps at the non-striker’s end. “He’s almost standing next to him,” the commentator exclaimed.

“He’s literally going to stand there behind the bowler’s arm. So he’s standing directly behind the umpire, Marnus has now pulled him by his pants and right across… You wonder what he’s going to do, don’t you. I don’t think I have ever seen that.”

And many cricket fans questioned whether it was legal for Labushagne to position the fielder right behind the bowler’s arm but also noted it was atypical of the unique and unusual style of the entertaining cricketer. But many in the cricket world pointed out that while the move was legal it wasn’t in the spirit of the game.

The move was reminiscent of Michael Clarke’s fielding choice in 2014 when he used a radical semicircle formation after lunch with seven fielders in front of the batsman in a desperate attempt to break the Abu Dhabi deadlock against Pakistan. The decision to put Mitchell Johnson behind Peter Siddle’s bowling arm, however, didn’t go down well. The decision drew the ire of many in the cricket world, in particular former Australian skipper Allan Border who said the stationing of fielders directly behind the bowler’s arm was unsportsmanlike.

“Where he (Johnson) is there (behind the bowler’s arm), I don’t think it’s in the spirit of the game,” Border said on Fox Sports at the time. “That’s the way I’d see that. When he moves to the mid-on side of straight, I’m a bit more relaxed about that. When he’s right behind the bowler’s arm, I don’t know.”

Cameron Green’s Australian Test spot under threat

Meanwhile, Australia’s Test selection dilemma has taken another turn with Cameron Green set to be available as a batsman for the India series. The Age reports Australian selectors had been planning for life without Green as he has been battling a back injury, however, have been made aware that he is available as a batter and potentially could return to his bowling workload later in the Aussie summer.

Green may return for Australia A’s game against India A at the MCG in early November purely as a batsman and will be available through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. But much of the 25-year-old’s value comes from his ability to contribute with the ball and therefore Australian selectors will likely need to decide whether to promote Green to open, so Steve Smith can return down the order, or go with a proven opener like Marcus Harris, Matt Renshaw or Cameron Bancroft.

Travis Head also looms as an option to move to the top of the order in Smith’s place if required, in order to keep the playing XI the same as last summer. But that now seems unlikely after the left-hander was listed to bat at No.4 for South Australia against NSW in their Shield game.

Smith, who filled the gap left by David Warner after his retirement, is understood to have been informed he will return to No.4. And that means for Green to keep his spot he would likely need to open, considering he won’t be able to contribute with the ball. Alternatively, Michael Neser and Aaron Hardie are leading options should Australian selectors wish to bring an allrounder into the team in place of Green.

Marcus Harris puts together serious case for Test call-up

But the chances of that happening took another blow after Harris showed his quality again on the opening day of the Sheffield Shield season. On Tuesday, Harris belted 143 off 178 as he continued to push for an Australian call-up. George Bailey’s co-selector Tony Dodemaide was at the Junction Oval to see Harris, the former Test opener, power to his 29th first-class hundred.

The veteran batsman navigated some tricky early conditions to set a platform for some late hitting as selectors weigh up who should partner Usman Khawaja at the top of the order for the upcoming series against India. Speaking after the opening day, Harris played down a potential Australian call-up saying his sole focus is on performing well for Victoria.

“Everyone keeps asking me (about Test chances),” Harris said. “Probably in the past, it’s weighed on my mind a lot more than what it is at the moment. I’m just playing it as it comes at me. Last year was a good lesson for that.

“I don’t know, I’ll just keep playing whatever I’m playing and trying to put runs on the board. It’s always helpful if you get runs early in the season, to sort of kick-start your season a little bit. But I’m just focused on what I’m doing here.”

Josh Inglis continues push to replace Alex Carey in Test side

While Josh Inglis has continued his push to replace Alex Carey in the Australian Test side with an ODI-style century to help Western Australia post a solid first-innings total in their Sheffield Shield clash against Queensland.

WA ended day one at 7-319, with Inglis (122 off 117 balls) and Sam Whiteman (102 off 237 balls) combining for a 203-run partnership to salvage the innings. WA opener Bancroft entered the Shield match knowing a big score would help further push his case for a long-awaited Test recall. But the 31-year-old was out for a golden duck on the first ball of the day, edging a rampant Neser behind in what marked a perfect start to the season for Queensland.

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“The start we had wasn’t ideal, but it’s nice to build a partnership with Whitey, who played beautifully,” Inglis said. “I love playing cricket for WA and I love playing here at the WACA, and I’ve had some great success over the last few years in Shield cricket. So any chance I can come back and play with the boys is really nice.”

Inglis has been in fine form for Australia in the ODI and T20 formats and many have called for him to replace Carey in the Test team as well. While it is unlikely he will nab the spot for the start of the 2024/25 home summer, if he continues to perform with the bat and gloves at Shield level and Carey struggles to get any substantial runs in the opening game or two of the Aussie Test summer, Carey may be presented with a chance in the Test side.

with AAP