Australia chief selector George Bailey has confirmed that Marnus Labuschagne will not play a part in the upcoming Test series against New Zealand.
The 32-year-old's red ball career is now hanging by a thread following a desperately poor run of form with the bat.
Bailey has decided to announce the decision on Labuschagne early in order for the number three to captain Queensland in the Sheffield Shield without any uncertainty hanging over his head with regard to his place in the Test setup.
The full squad is due to be selected after the fourth round of the Sheffield Shield, that begins on Wednesday.
Labuschagne was previously ranked as the best Test batter in the world but since returning to the Australia XI has averaged just 23.66 in 10 matches, making just one half-century during that period.
"We won't be considering Marn for selection certainly for that first Test, but [also] for the New Zealand series," Bailey told reporters. "And the reason I just wanted to clear that up today is I think there's going to be or has been a lot of speculation around his place in the team.
"So I think this gives him a little bit of space and clears up a bit of conjecture as we work through the next round of Shield cricket, and we'll pick the rest of that squad at the end of the completion of round four of Sheffield Shield."
The South African-born batter will now return to the domestic level where he has been extremely prolific throughout his career. When dropped from the Test team in 2025, he scored five hundreds in 10 innings, earning a recall for the home Ashes series.
Despite being dropped again, Bailey has insisted that there is a way back into the side ahead of next year's tours against England and India.
"It's still possible, absolutely. And I think we all know how good and how effective Marnus can be at his best. But that performance hasn't been there," said Bailey.
"He's always been an incredible performer at first-class level. So I expect that that'll be the case [again]. So yeah, there's no message to go back and do anything in particular.
"I mean, I think the currency is pretty obvious, but he's had a long run in that role, albeit with the gap during that West Indies series and post that back at domestic cricket. So for him, I think the plan is just to go back and focus on playing as well as he can for Queensland for a period of time."
