Marnus Labuschagne gets a chance to push for captaincy credentials with Queensland

Labuschagne will replace Usman Khawaja who will remain captain of the Brisbane Heat in the BBL. They will meet with the new coach of Queensland and Heat, Johan Botha.

Labuschagne briefly captained Queensland in the Marsh Cup and Sheffield Shield last season. Queensland finished bottom of the Shield, for the first time since 2007-08, and are fifth in the one-day competition.

“Both Marnus and Usman are strong leaders and we look to the future by appointing Marnus to lead the Bulls,” said Queensland cricket chief Terry Svenson. “It’s a great opportunity for Marnus to show his leadership skills again and give him experience at first class and one-day level. He and our players enjoyed the opportunity he got last season to lead the bulls and Marnus is excited about the team next season and working with the new coach, Johan Botha.”

However, how much of the Queensland Labuschagne season will be available beyond the first month of October remains to be seen. Australia have an ODI series against Pakistan in November which he is likely to be a part of before the Tests against India. Australia will tour Sri Lanka for two Tests from late January and then travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy starting in March.

“I feel honored to be chosen as the captain of Queensland, as I know that the Bulls mean a lot to the fans of the entire state,” said Labuschagne. “I’ve been in a great position to play with special leaders, and the opportunity to step up and do a job for a team that I love is exciting.”

“We have a great group of players and one of the priorities of the captaincy that I am looking forward to is helping us to make good use of the structure and opportunities that we are creating here in Queensland.”

While there is no imminent prospect of a captaincy change in the Australian set-up, Pat Cummins has indicated that he is unlikely to do Test and ODI duty for long. There have been concerns in the past about prospective captains not being able to cut their teeth at domestic level, although Cummins’ success in the role may have eased that.

Travis Head, who has led South Australia and the Adelaide Strikers, is being talked about as a potential future captain. Australia’s final Test squad, against New Zealand in Christchurch, included just two players – Labuschagne and Cameron Green – under the age of 30.