Australia coach admits Marnus Labuschagne 'needs some big runs' to retain place

Labuschagne scored 1 and 31 in Darwin to extend his Test century drought to 42 innings as the home side fell to a nine-wicket loss against the tourists in the first Test of the two-match series in Darwin.

The number 3 is under immense pressure to retain his place in the XI having only contributed 166 runs at an average of 18.44 in his last nine Test innings.

"We want runs is the bottom line," McDonald said. "I think it was 31 he got in the second innings, and up until the point he got out, you'd sit there and say he was looking good.

"He was moving well, he's clipping off his pads, he was getting back through the ball down the ground. So it's easy for me to sit here and try to defend that, but ultimately it's 31.

"It's not a big score. He's lacked runs. He feels that. We feel that. We're working incredibly hard as a coaching group. It's one thing to talk about the player. You've got to talk coaching. We've got to get the best out of Marn as well. And we're working through that.

"I think we saw some change in the way that he played, so that's good. So some of that work that he had done feels as though it's stuck under pressure, and that's always a hard part too.

"You can try to make these changes, and then when you get put under extreme pressure in the middle, sometimes those changes don't hold. So it was good to see them hold up.

"But it is 31. He's disappointed of that missed opportunity. He needs some big runs."

Josh Inglis is the only spare batter in the 13-man squad, while Matt Renshaw and Cooper Connolly have also been suggested as replacements with the second and must-win Test starting in Mackay on Saturday.

"It's always going to be a conversation," McDonald said. "The age profile of the team, where we're at, how we're traveling, a loss doesn't help that. There's no doubt about that. These players have got a fair bit of cricket left in them, I believe. And it's just how we navigate through it.

"There's always going to be calls for change on the back of a loss. There's going to be an emotion around that from the outside and even internally. Our guys sit in that change room at the moment, and they're feeling it.

"You feel a Test loss. It means a lot to them to play for Australia. So let's not lose that in all this as well.

"It's how you move forward, and ultimately, our next decision is going to be our most important."