Marnus Labuschagne has sent a strong message to chief selector George Bailey with a fine century for Queensland against Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield at Allan Border Field. Resuming on 54 not out, the Queensland skipper broke a 14-month first-class century drought on Monday before lunch on day three, reaching his milestone off 154 balls. He went on to score 160 off 205 balls before falling to a reverse sweep off Nivethan Radhakrishnan.
It is the 31-year-old's 33rd first-class ton, but his first since scoring 119 for Glamorgan in July 2024. Labuschagne's last Test century came in the 2023 Ashes Test at Old Trafford. He has not played Test cricket since the World Test Championship final in June, where he managed scores of 17 and 22 as an opener.
Fellow Test hopeful Matt Renshaw also impressed with a century on day two, scoring 128 for Queensland. Renshaw, who has played 14 Tests and averages 29.31, said he tries to block out external noise and focus on doing his job for Queensland. Meanwhile, incumbent Test opener Usman Khawaja made 69 on day two before being caught behind.
Queensland were eventually all out for 612, a lead of 233, with Nikhil Chaudhary taking 5-104. Tasmania will start day four on 1-62. Elsewhere, Sam Konstas, Nathan McSweeney and Kurtis Patterson all failed in both innings of their Shield matches, highlighting the ongoing opener issue for Australia.
