Cricket World Cup 2023: Cricket Australia on Friday announced that Marnus Labuschagne has been selected in the 15-man Australia World Cup squad at the expense of injured Ashton Agar.
Agar has been ruled out of the upcoming Cricket World Cup in India with a calf injury. It was the same injury that had ruled out the left-arm spinner from the South Africa series. Agar had returned home after just a single match against the Proteas for the birth of his first child.
Head, who had suffered a fractured hand during the fourth ODI against South Africa on September 15, has managed to kept his spot in the World Cup squad.
Australia had announced their 15-player provisional squad for the Cricket World Cup on September 6. The announcement also mentioned that the final 15-player squad will be confirmed later this month.
As per player inclusion rules set by the International Cricket Council (ICC), all teams participating in the ODI World Cup were required to announce their 15-player squads before September 28. Any replacements after this date will only be authorized post approval from the ICC board.
Australia World Cup Squad - Final
Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc
Australia, here's your squad to take on the ODI World Cup in India starting on October 8!
September 28, 2023
Congratulations to all players selected 👏 #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/xZAY8TYmclHow Marnus Labuschagne Reacted On Pitch After Missing Out On A Place In World Cup Squad?
Marnus Labuschagne got a lucky break during the South Africa series when he came in as a concussion substitute after Cameron Green was hit on his ear by a Rabada beamer. Chasing South Africa's 223, Australia were reduced to 72/5 after 11 overs when Marnus entered as a concussion sub.
What followed after that was nothing less than a fairy tale for one of Australia's best batters currently. His match-winning score of 80 to guide Australia to a 3-wicket victory over SA in the 1st ODI awarded him the 'Player of the Match', but Labuschagne bettered this performance in the second ODI where he scored a superb century to win back-to-back player of the match awards on his way to taking Australia to yet another victory.
Though South Africa won the 5-match ODI series 3-2, Labuschagne was the highest run scorer of the tournament with 283 runs. This performance drew a lot of applause with fans and experts alike calling for his inclusion in the Australian squad for World Cup 2023.
He was also selected for the ODI series against India where he performed well with the bat and was the 2nd top Australian run-getter despite the Australian team losing the series 2-1.
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