Australia vs India, 4th Test Day 3: Talking Points

#3. The repeated failures of Shaun Marsh

The time is ticking at a rapid pace for Shaun Marsh

Fun fact: Shaun Marsh rose into the high legions of his national side after a superhuman performance in season 1 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) back in 2008. He was the top-scorer of the event, with 616 runs from just 11 innings.

But the Shaun Marsh we know these days is very different, and it's almost saddening to note the fact that he has not played more than a couple of good innings across formats, over the whole of the past one year and more.

He was one of the few batsmen who seemed to have cemented their places in the Test squad, especially in the absence of heavyweights Smith and Warner. As a senior batsman, he was also supposed to help out in the process of saving the sinking ship, but unfortunately, he has not been able to put his hand up and take that responsibility.

A flurry of unnecessary dismissals mark his Test career in its whole length, and the same has been the case in the ongoing series as well. Today, for instance, Marsh looked solid as he executed a neat cover drive for four off Jadeja, only to try and push one past square in another ball immediately after.

He did not read the spin or the bounce at all, and so it can only be deemed a blind shot at best. As fate would have it, he could only edge the ball straight to the slips, and the cover drive boundary remained the only runs he could score at all.

With the likes of Bancroft, Smith, and Warner pushing for a return into the side, Marsh may as well find his place in the squad being removed at the earliest. It is rather sad for that to happen to a batsman who began with so much promise.