Australia head coach Andrew McDonald defended Marnus Labuschagne after his poor performance in the World Test Championship final against South Africa. Labuschagne scored 17 and 22 in the match at Lord’s as the move to use him as an opener failed.

The 30-year-old was criticised for his batting approach in the first innings by Kevin Pietersen as his poor run of form with the bat continued in the longest format of the game. However, McDonald said that it is all about finding a spot for Labuschagne in the team to get him back to his best.

As quoted by The Age, McDonald said that Labuschagne is still a big part of the future of the team. The Aussie coach said that they’re confident that he will regain his form.

“He’s a big part of the future of the team,” McDonald said of Labuschagne. “Anyone that averages 46 in Test cricket at that age is important. We’ve got older players there who are closer to the end than the start, we’ve got some younger players coming in, and you definitely want guys that have got 60-odd Test matches.”

“At that age, he’s really important. If he can get his game in order for the next five years, he can underpin that batting order. At the moment, he’d be disappointed with the returns. He’s missed out on big scores.

“He threatened at the MCG, got a pair of 70s, and if they’d been a pair of hundreds then the conversation shifts as well. We’re confident he can return to his best, hence why we keep picking him. It’s at what point do we stop picking him,” said McDonald.

‘We’re not a perfect team’

McDonald said that Australia are not a perfect team, and they couldn’t conjure up a way to win in the World Test Championship final.

“We’re not a perfect team, and we haven’t been across the journey – we’ve found ways to win, and unfortunately this time we couldn’t conjure that up,” McDonald said.

Australia will now head to West Indies for a Test series.