None did. Labuschagne’s 49 innings without a Test hundred already outlast the 47 of Alick Bannerman, and they dwarf the barren spells that David Warner and Steve Smith went through. His last century was scored in July 2023, at Old Trafford, and since then the record book has turned against him. The numbers below measure how deep the slump runs, set it beside the earlier ones, and ask what history says about the way out for a batter in this position, with Australia’s selectors watching closely.
His final century, a 111, was made in the 2023 Ashes at Old Trafford. In the 49 innings spread over 26 Tests that followed, he has not passed 90. Those innings brought 1,094 runs, an average of 24.31 and nine fifties, and his peak was a score of 90 in March 2024, against New Zealand.
South Africa in October brought 131 runs from six innings, his highest being 39, and the series ended 2-1 to the hosts. Cape Town was the low point: scores of 0 and 4 in a defeat by 176 runs.
He has played 68 Tests for 4,861 runs, averaging 42.64, and the list includes 25 fifties and 11 hundreds. Remove the Old Trafford era and that older sample runs to 74 innings, in which he averaged 54.59 across 3,767 runs. Those figures come from simple subtraction of the totals.
Conversion has fallen apart as well. Of the 27 occasions on which he passed fifty before the slump, 11 became hundreds, or 41 per cent. Of the nine since, none has. A batter who once finished what he started now keeps getting out in the fifties or earlier.
His 48th innings without a hundred had already set a new mark for an Australian in the top four, beating Bannerman’s 47, which stretched across 1879 to 1893. Nobody in that part of the order has gone longer, and the gap has since grown to 49. It is a record no batter would choose to own, least of all one who averaged 54.59 before it began.
The other long spells ended with a big score from inside the side, except Bannerman, who never scored another. Warner’s gap of 29 innings finished with 200 at the MCG, and Smith’s 25 ended with 101 at the Gabba.
Career ended without another hundred
At the MCG in his following Test, Smith made 140 to back up that 101. Warner’s double century arrived after ten innings without so much as a fifty, and he had been warned that selectors wanted him in India. Neither had been removed from the team when the hundred finally came.
Labuschagne has been dropped once already, as last year’s Caribbean tour cost him three Tests. Two Shield hundreds earned him a recall for the home Ashes, though the drought carried on, and the white-ball squads have not picked him either. The usual escape route of runs in domestic cricket did not work for him.
Greg Chappell has argued that any turnaround must begin in the batter’s head, pointing to performance anxiety and saying a break from Test cricket cannot be avoided. The figures do show a drop in conversion: 36 per cent of his innings up to Old Trafford produced fifty or more (27 of 74), compared with 18 per cent (nine of 49) since. Both percentages are simple calculations from the totals.
Numbers cannot prove cause, and Chappell also noted flat-footed footwork against late movement. Andrew McDonald, the selector, said the side backed Labuschagne for this tour yet would take another look as the series moves on. Labuschagne now looks likely to sit out the opening Test against New Zealand, which is in Perth in December. However long the Marnus Labuschagne Test century drought runs, that Perth decision will show how patient the selectors remain.
Should Labuschagne be rested for the New Zealand series, or does he need runs at Test level to recover? Tell us in the comments.
What was Marnus Labuschagne’s last Test century?
It was an innings of 111 against England in July 2023, at Old Trafford. He has since faced 49 innings without a hundred, a stretch that is still going and has no end in sight.
How far has Marnus Labuschagne’s Test average fallen?
His career average sits at 42.64 over 68 Tests. In the matches since July 2023, that figure drops to 24.31, compared with 54.59 for the long stretch before Old Trafford.
What explains Marnus Labuschagne’s loss of form?
Greg Chappell cites performance anxiety and negative thinking, and he adds that the footwork gets flat late on. Those are opinions, and the figures show only the decline, not what causes it.
Is Marnus Labuschagne about to lose his Test place?
Not formally, though Andrew McDonald says the team will take another look. Labuschagne appears likely to miss the New Zealand opener in Perth in December, and he is already absent from Australia’s white-ball squads.
How many Test matches has Marnus Labuschagne played?
He has played 68 Tests, across 123 innings. Those games yielded 4,861 runs, 11 hundreds and 25 fifties at a career average of 42.64, even after the long drought.
Disclaimer: This blog post reflects the author’s personal insights and analysis. Readers are encouraged to consider the perspectives shared and draw their own conclusions.
