Labuschagne dropped from Australia ODI squad as Davies and Peake earn call-ups

Australia’s selectors have left Marnus Labuschagne out of the ODI squad for the six-match tour across Zimbabwe and South Africa, bringing in New South Wales allrounder Joel Davies and left-hander Ollie Peake. Labuschagne’s omission comes as he also awaits word on his Test future, with the South Africa Test squad set to be named next week.

The six-match series covers three ODIs in Harare on September 15, 18 and 20, followed by three in South Africa on September 24, 27 and 30 at Durban, Johannesburg and Potchefstroom respectively. National Selector George Bailey said selections for the two formats would be separated, with concerns about Labuschagne’s future in Australia colours.

“We’re still very much working through what that Test squad looks like, but I can say [we] separate out those formats,” Bailey said, as quoted by Cricinfo.

Why have Davies and Peake been included in the squad?

Davies caught the selectors’ attention during the T20I assignment against Bangladesh earlier in 2026 and is now in line to make his ODI debut. Peake, a left-handed batter who is one of the more highly-rated prospects in the Australian game, receives a further chance to establish himself in Australia’s white-ball plans. Bailey was clear about the regard in which both are held.

“For Ollie and Joel, who we rate very highly, it’s another fantastic opportunity and a further chance for them to continue their exposure and growth in the Australian team,” Bailey said.

Allrounder Cooper Connolly, who has returned to bowling following a back injury and struck 149 against Bangladesh in Mirpur, will be available throughout the ODI leg. Selectors chose not to rotate players between the ODI squad and the Australia A side touring India simultaneously, a decision that means Peake will not feature in the A fixtures. Johnson is the only squad member who will subsequently travel to India for the white-ball portion of the A tour, with those three one-day matches scheduled after the South Africa ODIs conclude.

“It’s always a tricky one. I think [we] touched on this in the past that the opportunity versus not wanting to take away the opportunity of playing those A-games versus not wanting to take away the opportunity to play international cricket. I think the three obvious ones in that boat, Cooper, Ollie and then Joel Davies as well, I’d throw into that boat. We discussed even after the South African one-dayers whether there was value in them heading across and continuing to play a bit more white-ball cricket in those one-day games [in India]. But I think where we land on that, all three of them have had some really good subcontinent exposure of late and have had multiple entries there,” Bailey added.

How does this tour fit into Australia’s World Cup preparations?

The ODI series carries added significance because South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia are the co-hosts of next year’s Cricket World Cup, making these fixtures a direct rehearsal for that tournament. Pat Cummins, who retains the official ODI captaincy, and Mitchell Starc will join the squad for the South Africa leg ahead of the three-match Test series in October. Marsh will lead the side in Zimbabwe, and he and Cummins will share the captaincy in South Africa depending on how many matches Cummins plays. Josh Hazlewood will be part of both series.

Australia have also added pace depth by selecting Spencer Johnson and Billy Stanlake. Johnson, a left-arm quick with five ODIs to his name, the last of which came in early 2025, worked his way back into the T20I side during the Bangladesh tour after a lengthy injury absence. Stanlake featured in Rawalpindi on the Pakistan tour for his first international outing in more than seven years, though he did not take a wicket.

“This six-game series is an important lead-in to next year’s World Cup, being played in the same countries, for the group,” Bailey said. “As such it’s great to have Mitch [Marsh], Travis and Josh returning, then Pat and Mitch [Starc] for the [South Africa] leg. This gives us our core of players mixed with some we think will continue to make an impression.

Australia full squad for Zimbabwe and South Africa ODI series

Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Pat Cummins (SA only), Joel Davies, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Mitchell Marsh, Oliver Peake, Matthew Renshaw, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc (SA only), Adam Zampa