Mitchell Marsh wants to be Australia's No 1 all-rounder

Marsh wants to be Australia’s long-term replacement for Shane Watson in Test cricket

Mitchell Marsh said that he is looking forward to cementing his position as Australia’s premier all-rounder in the longer format of the game, cricket.com.au reports. The 24-year-old is looking forward to the upcoming Test series against New Zealand and is hopeful that he will be given an opportunity to play under new skipper Steven Smith.

With Shane Watson announcing his retirement from Test cricket after the Ashes series loss against England earlier in the year, Marsh seems to be in the driving seat to be the first choice all-rounder for Australia especially considering the fact that national head coach Darren Lehmann has publically criticised Glenn Maxwell, who could be a contender for the all-rounder spot as well.

Marsh has performed well in the few opportunities he has been given so far, most notably with the ball against England picking up 8 wickets in three Test matches. He is hopeful that he will be afforded the chance to don the Baggy Green yet again when Australia face New Zealand in November.

"That's an opportunity I'm really looking forward to, I just want to nail down that number six spot in the Test arena and hopefully this summer is a chance for me to do that. But I've got to get picked first. I can't score runs and take wickets if I'm not on the park," Marsh said.

Revealing his preparations ahead of the upcoming series, Marsh said that the Tests in England had been a learning experience and added that he has primarily focussed on keeping his fitness in check.

"I learned some valuable lessons in England," Marsh said. “Playing without the Dukes ball might help a little bit, hopefully, it (the Kookaburra ball employed in Australia) is not swinging around corners. For me it's just about spending as much time in the middle as I can, the last six weeks (since returning from the UK) have been a chance to work on my body and get that right for what's going to be a long summer.”

Despite a number of high-profile cricketers announcing their international retirement following the Ashes campaign, Marsh feels the incoming players are more than ready to fill in and play a crucial role in what will be a new era for Australian cricket.

"I'm very excited about the group that we're going to have. We're going into this series very positive, it's nice to be playing back in Australia again and every team that comes here knows they're in for a good challenge playing in our conditions.

"Obviously there are some new faces around the squad and that's exciting not only for us as a team but also for the Australian public who come and watch us. I think as a young group we've got an opportunity to start something special and hopefully this summer is the start of that,” Marsh said.

He also heaped praise on the new Test skipper and feels Smith has the potential to remain the captain for the foreseeable future.

"As a player I'm very excited to hopefully play under him. He's a great bloke and he's going to be a great leader for Australia hopefully over a long period of time," Marsh said.