Marnus Labuschagne told me he will be back in Australia squad before Ashes: Steven Smith

The Ashes 2025-26 is fast approaching for a fierce battle of five Test matches between Australia and England, commencing later this year. And ahead of the all-important assignment, Marnus Labuschagne has made a case for himself for a comeback to the Australian national side, after briefly being on the sidelines. Labuschagne apparently told senior teammate Steven Smith that he was certain of a comeback.

Smith himself has revealed that the No. 3 batter was confident of his return to the Test squad after a poor run of form over the last twelve months or so. The squad announcement is yet to be made, and with four centuries in the last six innings for Queensland, Labuschagne is more than certain of making it to the final line-up for the blockbuster assignment Down Under.

“I sent him a message a couple of days ago saying how proud I was of him. He's just gone back, and he's got his fourth hundred in five hits. It's a pretty big statement. He said to me at the start of the summer, he goes, 'I'll be in that Test team come the first [Ashes] Test'. He's backed up his words, probably. Obviously he's not selected yet, [but] he's done a lot of things right,” Smith said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“We've all been there [dropped] at some point in our careers, and it's difficult to hear it, But I think he knew he probably wasn't batting as well as he had been over probably four years ago when he was scoring a mountain of runs. My advice to him was, 'stop thinking so technically, just go and play the game; watch the ball and react'. I think he's been doing that really beautifully, and he's played so nicely,” the senior batter added.

For the unversed, Smith might see an added responsibility on his shoulders for the Ashes, with doubts lingering over Pat Cummins fitness. Cummins, who is recuperating from a back injury, isn't certain to be fully available for the England assignment, which makes Smith a contender for captaincy alongside batter Travis Head. The first Ashes Test will begin on November 21 at the Perth Stadium.