Marnus Labuschagne, the South African-born Australian cricketer, has retained his place for the Australian Test tour to South Africa, which starts next month.

Labuschagne was named in a 16-man squad after speculation that he would be dropped after a poor run of form in the last two years.

Labuschagne, who was born in Klerksdorp in 1994 and moved to Australia as a ten-year-old with his family, only averaged 24 in Tests in the past two years, with five 50s in 15 games. His overall career average is just under 45.

George Bailey, the chairman of the Australian selection panel, was quoted as saying: “[We’re] not shying away from the fact that we’d like some more runs from Marn… but we're also confident that he can still make a positive contribution to that squad.”

Labuschagne is not the only South African-born player in the squad, with seam-bowling all-rounder Michael Neser also selected. Neser was born in Pretoria in 1990 and, like Labuschagne, moved to Australia with his family as a ten-year-old.

The team will be led by fast bowler Pat Cummins.

Australia will play three Tests against South Africa, in Durban, Gqeberha, and Cape Town.

It will also be the first Test tour to South Africa by Australia since the infamous “sandpapergate” scandal in 2018, when Australian players were found tampering with the ball. Australia lost the four-match series 3-1, their first Test series loss in South Africa since 1970.

Australian squad: Pat Cummins (capt), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster