Mitchell Marsh came back and now has his Test redemption

"Yeah, most of Australia hate me. Australians are very passionate, they love their cricket, they want people to do well. There's no doubt I've had a lot of opportunity at Test level and I haven't quite nailed it,” – this was part of what Mitchell Marsh said when it became clear that he would play the fifth Test of the Ashes series in 2019.

Prior to that, he had not featured at all in the series. His talent, even at that stage, was unquestionable and undeniable. An epitome of a three-dimensional cricketer, there was no reason for him to fail.

But the times he could not do justice to his talent kept racking up. In fact, that fifth Ashes Test in 2019 only yielded 41 runs across two innings, and the question marks over his suitability to the longest format kept piling up (even though he picked up seven wickets with the ball).

That was the last time he played Test match cricket for Australia until….Headingley in 2023.

Four years is an awful amount of time for someone to be sidelined. More so for someone of his class. With each missed Test, though, it began making sense why and how he had managed to irk the Australian cricket-watching folk.

The moment anyone set their eyes on Marsh, they would know there was an all-format behemoth nestled inside. The only problem, though, was that it did not surface often enough. And when it did, it usually proved to be a false dawn.

So, him coming bang into the middle of this Ashes series, which has already seen a truckload of talking points, was a big deal. Of course, no one had blatantly put it out that this was a last-chance saloon for Marsh and his Test ambitions.

But it felt that way. Partly because Cameron Green, in the meantime, has cast himself as a prospective generational cricketer but largely because Marsh, having played 32 Tests already and boasting an average a shade under 26, could not keep living off potential alone.

The first ball he faces at Leeds is on a length and nibbling away. Marsh lets it go. The second ball nips back into him. He still shoulders his arms and gets rapped on the pads. He then pushes the third ball into the off side and finally feels bat on ball.

Three balls in, there has been no discernible difference. When Stuart Broad over-pitches on the final ball of the 25th over, though, something feels different.

Marsh shows utter conviction, springs onto the front foot, and caresses it through extra cover – the sort of shot that explains just why Australia keep going back to him. An over later, against Mark Wood who is spitting fire, Marsh is squared up once and is beaten on the pull on another occasion.

So, in about nine balls, Australian fans have seen the all-rounder produce an amazing stroke, look clueless one ball, indulge in what many might term a loose shot before an interval, and leave those watching guessing as to what is in store.

A normal day at the office.

Mitchell Marsh produced an astonishing hundred

It is after lunch, however, that this new avatar of Marsh – a version he wants to tell everyone is different from previous renditions, begins taking shape.

A marginally short delivery outside off stump by Chris Woakes is pounded well in front of square for six. When Woakes pitches it up, the all-rounder drills it back past him. Broad comes in for similar treatment and when Wood tries to crank it up and bowl short, Marsh reads it like the morning daily and clatters it.

His riposte to spin is equally bruising. Moeen Ali, perhaps brought into the attack to entice the Australian into a big stroke, only ends up ceding more momentum. Moeen, in his defense, was doing what was asked of him and was trying to lull the all-rounder into doing something injudicious. At Headingley, though, Marsh was just too good.

And that is why this innings will stand out. Not because of the boundaries he hit, or the ease with which he cleared the fence. It will be remembered because of how composed Marsh looked at the crease, yet, how cavalier he was. He almost smashed the cover off the ball, yet, it never looked like he broke into a sweat.

There was also plenty of conviction in how he played. When he left the ball, it felt as if that was the only thing he wanted to do, rather than it being an afterthought. When he defended, he seemed to know exactly what he was up to. And when he attacked, well, the ball flew (quite literally).

In a nutshell, that is why Marsh has long been earmarked for greatness – ever since he led Australia to the U-19 World Cup title in 2010. There are not many in the world, let alone Australia, that can do what he can do – make hitting look easy and effortless.

That he decided to unfurl this particular version, with Australia staring down the barrel, on day one in front of a raucous and partisan crowd at Headingley, only adds another layer of greatness to this knock.

He got out just before tea but it was not before he had told England that two could play this ultra-aggressive, proactive brand of cricket they have been breaching for the last year and a bit. If anything, he might have even told England this is how they need to refine Bazball to ensure it succeeds in a high-pressure, high-octane environment against a high-quality bowling attack.

Back in 2019, when Marsh said that he was perhaps the cricketer that Australian fans hated most, he also said, “hopefully they can respect me for the fact I keep coming back and I love playing for Australia, I love the baggy green cap and I'll keep trying and hopefully I'll win them over one day."

That day has come. He kept coming back, and he now has a Test redemption arc of his own. It was fitting and perhaps poetic that it arrived in perfect Mitchell Marsh fashion, sprinkled with lazy elegance all over, yet, impactful enough to dig Australia out of trouble.