Labuschagne set for captaincy debut in Queensland return

What could be Marnus Labuschagne's first steps towards captaining Australia will be made when the Test batter leads Queensland for the first time in Wednesday's Marsh One-Day Cup game in Adelaide.

Labuschagne will make his senior captaincy debut against South Australia in the dead-rubber 50-over match at Karen Rolton Oval where Australian Indigenous XI wicketkeeper Dylan McLachlan will play his first domestic match.

Usman Khawaja (rest) is the Bulls' regular captain while gloveman Jimmy Peirson (knee injury) is his deputy, but Labuschagne will lead the side with neither of those players to feature.

The 29-year-old is one of the younger members of an ageing Australian Test outfit and will be in line to take on leadership roles when Khawaja and Steve Smith eventually hang up the boots.

Travis Head has recently been appointed as a vice-captain of the Test team, while Pat Cummins has openly said he has no intention of remaining skipper for the rest of his playing days.

But Labuschagne has limited captaincy experience, having last done it at Queensland Under-19 level more than a decade ago.

McLachlan meanwhile has gotten the nod to fill in for Peirson after impressing at Toyota Second XI level and for the Brisbane Heat Academy.

Queensland v South Australia

 

February 14, 11am AEDT, Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide

 

South Australia squad: Nathan McSweeney (c), Jordan Buckingham, Alex Carey, Harry Conway, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Josh Kann, Thomas Kelly, Jake Lehmann, Ben Manenti, Nathan McAndrew, Harry Nielsen (wk), Lloyd Pope, Henry Thornton, Jake Winter

 

Queensland squad: Marnus Labuschagne (c), Max Bryant, Hugo Burdon, Jack Clayton, Matthew Kuhnemann, Ben McDermott, Dylan McLachlan (wk), Matthew Renshaw, Gurinder Sandhu, Connor Sully, Mitchell Swepson, Jack Wildermuth

The 25-year-old, who has First Nations heritage through the Kamilaroi people whose traditional lands encompass central northern NSW and western Queensland, toured Vanuatu with the Australian Indigenous team last year.

Queensland are hopeful Peirson will recover for Friday's Sheffield Shield match against Queensland, but McLachlan could make his first-class debut in that match if he does not.

The Bulls could field Mitchell Swepson for his first 50-over game of the season along with quick Connor Sully, with neither team able to make the final.

The Bulls face a South Australia side that will welcome back Alex Carey from international duties, but may be without Jake Fraser-McGurk if he plays in tonight's Dettol T20I against West Indies in Perth after earning a late national squad call-up.

New South Wales v Victoria

 

February 14, 11.35am AEDT, North Sydney Oval, Sydney

 

Victoria squad: Peter Handscomb (c), Sam Elliott, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Nic Maddinson, Jon Merlo, Todd Murphy, Fergus O’Neill, Mitch Perry, Tom Rogers, Will Sutherland, Peter Siddle

 

NSW squad: Moises Henriques (c), Jackson Bird, Joel Davies, Ollie Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Daniel Hughes, Blake Macdonald, Jack Nisbet, William Salzmann, Tanveer Sangha

The most consequential match in the final round of Marsh Cup games will be at North Sydney between top-placed sides New South Wales and Victoria.

The winner will host next week's final, while the loser could miss out on the decider altogether if Western Australia defeat Tasmania in Hobart.

The Blues have recalled Jack Nisbet in place of allrounder Hayden Kerr, while the Vics have named an unchanged squad after beating South Australia last week.

WA will field at least one debutant in their must-win clash with the Tigers. Batting allrounder Keaton Critchell, paceman Bryce Jackson and off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli have all earnt call-ups.

Rocchiccioli could play alongside Ashton Agar after displacing him as the state's No.1 Sheffield Shield spinner, having not yet added a List A game to his 21 first-class matches.

Critchell, 27, struck centuries in both innings of WA's second XI contest against Tasmania last week, while Jackson has had strong returns in Premier Cricket after recovering from a back injury in December.

Billy Stanlake is line to make his 50-over return for Tasmania while Riley Meredith has dropped out of the squad.

Tasmania v Western Australia

 

February 14, 11am AEDT, Blundstone Arena, Hobart

 

Tasmania squad: Jordan Silk (c), Paddy Dooley, Jake Doran, Bradley Hope, Caleb Jewell, Mitchell Owen, Tom Rogers, Billy Stanlake, Charlie Wakim, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster, Mac Wright

 

Western Australia squad: Sam Whiteman (c), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Hilton Cartwright, Keaton Critchell, Cameron Gannon, Nick Hobson, Bryce Jackson, Josh Philippe, Corey Rocchiccioli, D'Arcy Short, Charlie Stobo, Andrew Tye

Marsh Cup 2023-24 standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Batting Bonus Bat	Total points PTS
1 NSW Men NSW	7	5	2	0	0	0.33	0	2	22
2 Western Australia Men WA	7	5	2	0	0	0.543	0	1	21
3 Victoria Men VIC	7	5	2	0	0	0.232	0	1	21
4 Tasmanian Tigers Men TAS	7	3	4	0	0	-0.201	0	1	13
5 Queensland Bulls QLD	7	1	5	0	1	-0.735	0	1	7
6 South Australia Men SA	7	1	5	0	1	-0.327	1	0	5

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

Bat: Batting Bonus

PTS: Total points