With the Australian selectors rebuilding their national Test side, Mitch Marsh, the talented all-rounder is under much pressure of to perform well now. Usman Khawaja’s solid return means a spot for him in the side which puts in doubt the selection of one spot for which Shaun Marsh and Joe Burns are being speculated.
The younger of the Marsh brothers is not being considered as a possible elimination, which tells us a lot about how the selection committee looks upon Mitchell Marsh as an all-rounder.
The Australian squad always believed of having four regular Test bowlers until they had the bowling class which included Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath. But the coach, Darren Lehman now believes that a fifth bowling option is a necessary.
For years, it was Shane Watson who took the spot, but now the trends have changed and the young Marsh has stepped into the shoes of the all-rounder Australia needs.
As good Marsh has been on the bowling front, he hasn’t done much to support the batting scorecard of his team.
Marsh is known for breaking solid partnerships and in his last 5 Test matches he has taken 13 wickets at an average of 26.61, but when it comes to batting, the 24-year-old has been poor. He hasn’t scored a single half century and playing in the top 6 of the batting lineup, it’s expected out of him to show some support at the batting frontier too.
Mitchell Marsh said on Wednesday, “There's obviously been a little bit of pressure on me to score runs, I've tried not to take too much notice of it because, as a team, three out of the four Tests [this summer] we've made over 500 in the first innings, so I haven't felt under too much pressure in that sense.”
Marsh is excited for the Boxing Day Test against the West Indies and he further added, "As a batsman you get paid to score runs and if you're not doing that there's going to be some pressure. That just comes with the territory of being an Australian cricketer. I'm just loving every moment of this. It's Boxing Day, it's Christmas. It's going to be a great week."
Mitchell Marsh’s presence in the victory against Indies at the Hobart was almost unneeded as he took only one wicket and kept waiting for his chance to bat as he watched his brother, Shaun and Adam Voges bat for a record-breaking fourth-wicket partnership of 449 runs.
This is what he had to say about the 400+ partnership, “It was awesome to watch Shaun and Vogesy, two great mates, batting together for Australia. It was just really great to see. I've done a lot of waiting this summer, but that's a great thing for us. I'm happy to wait if it means we're making 500-plus runs. I'll come in at the end and try to get a few for the team."
He mentioned that he didn’t waste his energy thinking about how to bat when he is waiting for his turn. At Hobart, he faced only 11 balls, after which Steve Smith declared the innings.
Marsh said, “I try and keep my mind off batting when I'm waiting to bat, I don't want to waste too much nervous energy. Obviously, when you're sitting there all day you start to get a bit tired. Any time you're next to bat after a 400-plus partnership it's great for the team.”
The older of the Marsh brothers contributed a terrific 182 in last test match but is still in contention with Joe Burns for the playing spot for the Boxing Day Test. Joe Burns scored a century earlier in the year but hasn’t gone past a score of 50 since then.
Mitchell Marsh told how his brother wasn’t worried about the spot as of now and is extremely focussed at the moment. Mitchell Marsh concluded, “Shaun has changed a lot as a person over the past couple of years," Marsh said.
"He doesn't buy into what people say, he's just extremely focused at the moment. You can see that in his batting, he's batting absolutely beautifully. He's doing everything he can. What will be will be, I guess.”
The Australian selectors have a big decision to make in the next two days as the West Indies gear up for the Boxing Day Test match.
