BRISBANE, Australia, September 17, 2026: Marnus Labuschagne has spent much of the past three years searching for the Test innings that will finally end the longest century drought of his international career. Before Australia decide exactly where he fits against South Africa, he will get two more opportunities to rediscover his rhythm while captaining Queensland.
Labuschagne will lead the Bulls in their 2026-27 One-Day Cup opener against Victoria at Allan Border Field on September 19 before Queensland face New South Wales three days later.
On paper, these are domestic 50-over matches. In reality, the timing gives them considerably more weight.
Labuschagne remains in Australia’s 16-player squad for the three-Test tour of South Africa, but his once-automatic ownership of the No. 3 position no longer feels untouchable. His recent scores against Bangladesh were 1, 31 and 4, his last Test century came in 2023, and Australia’s selectors have publicly acknowledged that the batting order remains open to discussion.
Story at a glance
Marnus Labuschagne’s Next Two Matches
Queensland Cricket’s official season-opening announcement confirms Labuschagne will lead the Bulls against Victoria, with Queensland beginning another campaign after finishing third in last season’s One-Day Cup.
This Is Not a New Captaincy, but the Timing Changes Everything
Labuschagne becoming Queensland captain is not the news by itself.
Australia Have Retained Labuschagne Without Protecting No. 3
That distinction may define the weeks ahead.
Why One-Day Cricket Could Still Help Labuschagne
A 50-over domestic match cannot simulate facing Kagiso Rabada and South Africa’s Test attack with a red ball.
Queensland Will Be Missing Several Familiar Names
Labuschagne will not be leading a full-strength Bulls side against Victoria.
For Labuschagne, returning to Queensland therefore offers something more useful than another captaincy assignment. It gives him competitive time in the middle before Australia return to the country of his birth for their first Test tour there since 2018.
The broader Australian selection picture has already been examined in The Sports Encounter’s analysis of Labuschagne’s retention for the South Africa Tests, while our cricket coverage will follow the tour and Australia’s domestic build-up.
Marnus Labuschagne’s Next Two Matches
| Key Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Competition | 2026-27 Australian One-Day Cup |
| Role | Queensland captain |
| First Match | Queensland vs Victoria |
| Date | September 19, 2026 |
| Venue | Allan Border Field, Brisbane |
| Second Match | Queensland vs New South Wales |
| Date | September 22, 2026 |
| Australia’s First Test | October 9 vs South Africa in Durban |
Queensland Cricket’s official season-opening announcement confirms Labuschagne will lead the Bulls against Victoria, with Queensland beginning another campaign after finishing third in last season’s One-Day Cup.
This Is Not a New Captaincy, but the Timing Changes Everything
Labuschagne becoming Queensland captain is not the news by itself.
He has led the Bulls since taking over ahead of the 2024-25 season. What makes this return significant is where it falls in his international career.
Three years ago, the question around Labuschagne was how long he could remain among the world’s dominant Test batters.
Now the question is whether he can secure the position he once appeared to own.
Australia retained him for South Africa after their 1-1 Test series draw with Bangladesh, but the decision came after another difficult personal series. Labuschagne made one and 31 in the historic Darwin defeat before scoring only four in Mackay.
The first Test became one of the most uncomfortable Australian performances in recent years, with Bangladesh exposing deeper problems in Australia’s ageing batting structure in Darwin.
Australia answered brutally in Mackay, where Mitchell Starc took 10 wickets and the hosts won by an innings and 51 runs. Yet as our review of the drawn Bangladesh series argued, the bowling recovery did not erase every question created by the batting.
Labuschagne remains close to the center of those questions.
Australia Have Retained Labuschagne Without Protecting No. 3
That distinction may define the weeks ahead.
Labuschagne is going to South Africa.
That does not automatically mean Australia have guaranteed him the same role he has held for most of the period since the 2019 Ashes.
Selection chair George Bailey has acknowledged that Australia want more runs from Labuschagne while also expressing confidence that he can still contribute to the side.
More importantly, Bailey has indicated that Australia are willing to discuss different batting configurations.
Cricket Australia’s official selection analysis identifies Cooper Connolly, Steve Smith and other members of the batting group as potential options if the selectors decide to alter the order.
The No. 3 Position Is No Longer a One-Man Conversation
Labuschagne has dominated Australia’s first-drop position since establishing himself during the 2019 Ashes.
That stability once worked in his favor.
It now creates a harsher comparison between the player he was at his peak and the runs he has produced more recently.
His last Test hundred came against England at Old Trafford in 2023. Since then, the long wait for another century has moved beyond the normal fluctuations experienced by even elite batters.
Before the Bangladesh series decider, TSE argued that Labuschagne needed a statement Test in Mackay.
He never got one.
South Africa Will Not Be a Comfortable Place to Search for Answers
This makes the domestic matches in Brisbane more valuable, even if the format is different.
South African conditions are unlikely to provide Labuschagne with a gentle route back into Test form. Pace, seam movement and high-quality fast bowling will place immediate pressure on any technical uncertainty around the top order.
Australia’s recent batting issues have also become part of a broader concern surrounding the age and succession planning of the national side, something explored in our analysis of Australia’s ageing core and next generation.
Labuschagne is 32, which means his situation is different from veterans approaching retirement. His problem is not age.
It is output.
Why One-Day Cricket Could Still Help Labuschagne
A 50-over domestic match cannot simulate facing Kagiso Rabada and South Africa’s Test attack with a red ball.
It can still help.
Batting form is partly technical, but it is also about decision-making, rhythm and the confidence to trust scoring options when pressure builds.
Labuschagne will have the chance to spend meaningful time at the crease without the intensity of immediately defending his Test place in Durban.
He also knows these conditions exceptionally well.
That mattered last season.
His 2025-26 One-Day Cup Season Was Extraordinary
Labuschagne scored 468 runs from only six innings during the 2025-26 domestic One-Day Cup.
He averaged 78, struck four centuries and became the first Queensland batter to score four one-day hundreds in a single season.
The campaign earned him the competition’s Player of the Year award for a record third time.
Queensland Cricket’s official award record confirms the scale of that campaign, including a top score of 130 and a strike rate of 96.49.
That creates an interesting contrast.
Domestic one-day cricket has not been a problem for Labuschagne.
Test cricket has.
Runs Would Help, but They Would Not Settle the Test Debate
This is why a hundred against Victoria or New South Wales should not be treated as proof that every red-ball problem has disappeared.
Labuschagne already showed last season that he could dominate the One-Day Cup while questions remained elsewhere.
The more meaningful benefit would be seeing him bat with clarity.
Is he moving decisively?
Is he leaving well?
Are his scoring options arriving naturally rather than through constant adjustment?
Those details may matter more to Australia than the raw number at the end of the innings.
Queensland Will Be Missing Several Familiar Names
Labuschagne will not be leading a full-strength Bulls side against Victoria.
Matthew Renshaw and Xavier Bartlett are away on Australian ODI duty in Zimbabwe, while Michael Neser continues his recovery from a calf problem ahead of the South Africa Test tour.
Jimmy Peirson is also recovering from a minor hamstring injury, creating another opportunity for Dylan McLachlan behind the stumps.
Queensland have named a squad featuring younger players including Hugo Burdon, Oli Patterson, Jem Ryan and Hugh Weibgen alongside established names such as Mitchell Swepson.
Ryan could make his List A debut after taking 12 Sheffield Shield wickets at 18.41 in three matches last season, while Weibgen enters the opener after making an unbeaten century in an intra-squad practice game.
The Domestic Game Comes While Australia’s ODI Team Moves On Without Him
There is another layer to Labuschagne’s return.
He is available for Queensland because Australia left him out of their ODI squads for Zimbabwe and South Africa.
That omission arrives before the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Australia are already using the current African tour to examine other batting combinations, with TSE’s Zimbabwe series preview identifying the trip as an early World Cup rehearsal.
Matthew Renshaw immediately strengthened his case by scoring his maiden ODI century as Australia won the series opener in Harare, a performance covered in our report on Renshaw and Nathan Ellis leading Australia past Zimbabwe.
That means competition around Labuschagne is not confined to Test cricket.
Australia are experimenting without him in one format while asking whether his established role should continue unchanged in another.
South Africa Carries a Personal Dimension for Labuschagne
The October tour will also carry significance beyond selection.
Labuschagne was born in Klerksdorp, South Africa, and moved to Australia with his family as a child.
Despite the depth of his international career, he has never played Test cricket in the country of his birth.
The upcoming series will therefore be his first opportunity to do so.
Australia begin in Durban on October 9 before moving to Gqeberha and Cape Town.
The series will also be Australia’s first Test visit to South Africa since the turbulent 2018 tour.
That historical backdrop has made the contest important before selection pressure is even considered.
The Bigger Question Is Whether Domestic Comfort Can Become Test Clarity
Labuschagne’s recent career contains an unusual contradiction.
His domestic one-day cricket has been outstanding.
His Test returns have fallen well below the standards he established earlier in his career.
Queensland therefore cannot offer him a simple solution this week.
What they can offer is time at the crease.
They can offer leadership responsibility.
They can offer two competitive matches without the constant international noise surrounding every dismissal.
That may be exactly what he needs before the challenge becomes considerably harder.
Australia survived the Bangladesh series with their reputation bruised but intact. They remain successful enough that selectors do not need to react emotionally to every lean run of form.
But the batting order cannot remain frozen simply because it once worked.
That tension is why Labuschagne’s two Queensland appearances matter.
They are not Test matches.
They will not guarantee him No. 3.
They do give him something Australian cricket has been waiting to see for a while: another chance to let runs, rather than debate, move the conversation.
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Will Marnus Labuschagne captain Queensland in the One-Day Cup?
Yes. Labuschagne will captain Queensland in their 2026-27 One-Day Cup opener against Victoria at Allan Border Field.
When do Queensland play Victoria?
Queensland’s official schedule lists the match against Victoria for September 19, 2026, at Allan Border Field in Brisbane.
Who do Queensland play after Victoria?
Queensland are scheduled to face New South Wales at Allan Border Field on September 22.
Is Marnus Labuschagne in Australia’s South Africa Test squad?
Yes. Labuschagne has been selected in Australia’s 16-player squad for the three-Test series in South Africa.
Is Labuschagne guaranteed to bat at No. 3 against South Africa?
No formal guarantee has been given. Australia’s selectors have indicated that the batting structure remains open to discussion, with several players capable of moving positions.
When did Marnus Labuschagne last score a Test century?
His most recent Test hundred was 111 against England at Old Trafford during the 2023 Ashes.
How did Labuschagne perform in the 2025-26 One-Day Cup?
He scored 468 runs from six innings at an average of 78, including four centuries, and was named One-Day Cup Player of the Year.
When does Australia’s Test series against South Africa begin?
The first Test begins in Durban on October 9, followed by Tests in Gqeberha and Cape Town.
Has Labuschagne played a Test in South Africa before?
No. The 2026 series is scheduled to be Labuschagne’s first Test tour of South Africa, the country where he was born.
Why is Labuschagne playing domestic cricket while Australia are in Zimbabwe?
He was not selected in Australia’s ODI squad for the current African white-ball tour, leaving him available to captain Queensland before joining Australia’s Test preparations.
