Australia have named their squad for next month's three-Test tour of South Africa.
The Aussies head to South Africa in October, where they will play three Test matches in Durban, Gqeberha and Cape Town.
Australia boast a decent Test record against the Proteas in more recent years -- winning two, drawing one and losing one of their last four contests -- and they'll be hoping to come out on top in after mixed performances against Bangladesh last time out.
They fell to a humiliating defeat against the Tigers in Darwin -- losing by a stunning nine wickets in one of the biggest upsets in cricket history -- but they earned back some respect when thrashing the visitors by an innings and 51 runs in the second Test in South Mackay, with Mitchell Starc taking an impressive 10 wickets.
Out-of-form Marnus Labuschagne has come under fire of late, but he is in the squad -- alongside 15 others -- when Australia travel to South Africa next month.
Labuschagne's position at number three has been at risk after averaging just 24.69 in his last 43 Test innings, with his last test century dating back to July 2023 against England.
The right-handed batter scored one, 31 and four against Bangladesh last month and has been left of Australia's squad for three one-day internationals against Zimbabwe and South Africa in September.
Australia selector George Bailey admitted that Australia would like more from their batters, but backed Labuschagne to improve after a disappointing spell at the crease.
He said: "(We're) not shying away from the fact that we'd like some more runs from Marn. But we're also confident that he can still make a positive contribution to that squad.
"Our batting group in its entirety, not just Marn, probably hasn't been functioning as successfully as we would like," he added.
Cooper Connolly, Matthew Kuhnemann and Michael Neser are the only three new additions from the squad that faced Bangladesh, with Australia otherwise unchanged.
Kuhnemann is perhaps the most surprising inclusion given that Australia are unlikely to select two spinners in an XI to face South Africa, but he will help the batting group prepare for Keshav Maharaj.
16-man Australia squad for South Africa tour
Pat Cummins (C), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (WK), Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.
