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‘No room’: Bailey explains shock Marnus call as FIVE Aussies axed in big World Cup move An emerging star of Australian cricket will travel to South Africa ahead of the highly-anticipated Test tour, but World Cup winning batter Marnus Labuschagne has been axed from the one-day international squad. With a World Cup defence just a year away, the Australian selection panel has reacted to a testing subcontinent tour against Pakistan and Bangladesh by axing five players, including Labuschagne, for the ODI tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa. Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. Victorian teenager Ollie Peake will get his chance to impress in Africa just weeks out from the Test tour, and just a year before a World Cup on the continent, after being selected alongside Joel Davies for the three games against Zimbabwe this month. Champion bowlers Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc have signalled their intention to be firing by the Test team, and to also feature in the 2027 World Cup, with confirmation they will feature in ODIs against South Africa preceding the Tests. It is a significant concern for Labuschagne, who made an unbeaten 58 in the ODI World Cup final against India in 2023, given the Test squad selection is just around the corner. But his highest score since then was an unbeaten 77 in England two years ago, while he made just one half-century in the series in Pakistan and Bangladesh midway through the year. Joining Labuschagne as casualties from the ODI tour of Pakistan and Bangladesh in late May and early June are Matt Short, Ben Dwarshuis, Todd Murphy and Liam Scott. Chairman of selectors George Bailey explained the reasoning behind the squad make up and why Labuschagne missed out during a press conference on Tuesday “Separating those formats out. It was a one-day cricket conversation,” Bailey said. “I think this is a pretty important tour for us. Zimbabwe and South Africa is where the World Cup will be played. “There’s not a whole lot of games and the opportunity is well deserved to those other players who’ve been selected.” “Marn, he’s played some really important one-day cricket at this best,” Bailey added. “But the way this squad was shaping up and what it looks like, there was no room for him.” Mitch Marsh will captain the side in the matches against Zimbabwe, with he and Cummins set to share leadership duties in South Africa as the Aussies seek to find their best form in the format. They were beaten 2-1 by Bangladesh in the longer white ball format in June, which followed a similar scoreline against Pakistan in late May. The only ODI series the Aussies have won since defeated England 3-2 late in a northern summer in 2024 was against India in 2025/26, with losses preceding the two most recent series defeats coming against South Africa and Sri Lanka as well. Australia – Zimbabwe and South Africa ODI Series Xavier Bartlett (QLD/Gold Coast Cricket Club) Alex Carey (SA/Glenelg Cricket Club) Cooper Connolly (WA/Scarborough Cricket Club) Pat Cummins (NSW/Penrith Cricket Club) Joel Davies (NSW/Manly Warringah Cricket Club) Nathan Ellis (TAS/Lindisfarne Cricket Club) Cameron Green (WA/Subiaco-Floreat Cricket Club) Josh Hazlewood (NSW/St George Cricket Club) Travis Head (SA/Tea Tree Gully Cricket Club) Josh Inglis (WA/Joondalup Cricket Club) Spencer Johnson (SA/West Torrens Cricket Club) Mitchell Marsh (WA/Fremantle Cricket Club) Oliver Peake (VIC/Geelong Cricket Club) Matthew Renshaw (QLD/Toombul Cricket Club) Billy Stanlake (TAS/Greater Northern Raiders Cricket Club) Mitchell Starc (NSW/Manly Warringah Cricket Club) Adam Zampa (QLD/Sutherland Cricket Club)