Marnus Labuschagne in 'awful' moment amid Steve Smith dilemma at Cricket World Cup

Marnus Labuschagne missed a golden opportunity to cement his place in Australia's side for the World Cup semi-finals after a horror dismissal against Afghanistan on Tuesday night. With Glenn Maxwell and Mitch Marsh coming back into the Aussie XI, Labuschagne appeared to be the odd man out and looked likely to be dropped.

But Steve Smith missed the match after suffering a bout of vertigo, meaning Labuschagne was saved and retained his place in the side. A number of commentators have pointed out that Australia can't afford to have both Smith and Labuschagne batting in the middle order, due to the fact they play a very similar game.

'BLOOD BOILING': David Warner in ugly scenes amid World Cup drama

'DON'T WANT TO GO': Michael Clarke's sad revelation about daughter

While the majority of Australia's line-up is built around power and explosiveness, Smith and Labuschagne bat much slower and look to stabilise things. But the Aussies have suffered a number of middle order stumbles at this World Cup, with Smith and Labuschagne unable to maintain the frenetic scoring rates produced by the likes of David Warner, Travis Head and Mitch Marsh at the top.

With Smith missing the match against Afghanistan, Labuschagne had the chance to make it impossible for selectors to drop him when Smith is available again. But he suffered a nightmare runout on 14 (off 28) when he failed to respond quickly enough when Maxwell called for a quick single.

The Aussies had spluttered to 4-69 when Maxwell called Labuschagne through for what he thought was an easy run. But Labuschagne was ball-watching and didn't take off straight away, and was found marginally short of his ground when Rahmat Shah threw down the stumps.

Did Marnus Labuschagne waste his final World Cup chance?

Labuschagne trudged off the ground in disbelief that he'd let the golden opportunity slip through his grasp. With one game remaining (against Bangladesh) ahead of a semi-final showdown with South Africa, selectors will likely bring Smith straight back in when fit.

" I think Labuschagne and Smith, they're both good mates, but very similar players," Mark Taylor said on 2BG radio this week. "They don't necessarily complement each other when they're out there batting because they are similar players.

"I just wonder if there's not an idea that if we're going well enough and Smith is in at four, we put (Josh) Inglis in at five as someone to get on with the game a bit more, to be a bit more proactive and let Smith do what he does, which is knock the ball around. That might be something the selectors think about because when Labuschange and Smith bat together they almost play the same way and I think it makes it easier for oppositions to set fields when they know the batting is going to be pretty consistent."

Smith averages over 42 at ODI World Cups in his career, but has struggled this time around. He has only managed 238 runs at an average of 29.28, with his lone half-century coming when he scored 71 against the Netherlands.

Labuschagne has managed two half-centuries and top-scored with 71 when Australia beat England. But his strike-rate is the major point of concern, which fell below 80 after his failure against Afghanistan.

Another player who might be facing the axe is Marcus Stoinis, who has only managed 35 and six in the last two games after his return from a calf injury. But with Maxwell back from his bout of concussion and firing on all cylinders, the Aussies will be warm favourites to knock off South Africa. The all-rounder blasted the highest score by an Australian in ODI history on Tuesday night, making 201 not out as the Aussies chased down 293 when all hope looked lost at 7-91.

Sign up to our newsletter and score the biggest sport stories of the week.