BRISBANE, Australia (AP) – A month ago, Mitch Marsh decided that despite his recent success with batting at the top of the innings, he would not be in Australia’s preferred starting XI for the Cricket World Cup over other players. I thought I might need to move down the rankings to make room.
The man who once joked that everyone in Australia hated him because he hadn’t made the most of his opportunities at international level now appears to be the go-to option as an opener.
Travis Head is expected to miss at least the first half of November from October 5th. Marsh was unable to participate in the 2019 World Cup due to a fracture in his right hand, and with Steve Smith returning from injury as the No. 3 batter, the best direction for Marsh is improving.
And if the big, burly all-rounder can form an early partnership with veteran David Warner, as he did in Australia’s series-winning header in India in March, the five-time champion It will give you a lot of firepower to start the innings.
Australia captain Pat Cummins has all but confirmed that the pair will start in the opening match of the World Cup following their comfortable 66-run win over India in the final of the three-match series this week. India won the first two matches.
Asked who was likely to start Australia’s first match against India on October 8, Cummins said: “Trav Head may not be ready by the start of the tournament.” Ta. “But I think he (Marsh) and Davey (Warner) started today and they seem like a pretty dangerous combination.”
Marsh scored an 84-ball 96 with three sixes and 13 fours in the third match, helping to correct Australia’s batting problems, while fellow opener Warner (34 for 56) also scored his third consecutive half-century. listed.
On the recent white-ball tour to South Africa, Marsh led an injury-ravaged team to a clean sweep of the Twenty20 series, leading 2-0 in ODI format before losing three consecutive one-day matches, but his confidence remains intact. .
“I think we certainly started the series well. We played some really good cricket, going back to the T20 series, we played some really good cricket too,” Marsh said. “There are a lot of things to look at positively.”
The Australians, along with Cummins, striking left-arm paceman Mitchell Starc, former captain Smith and all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who returned from injury, recalled before losing their first two matches and three consecutive matches against India. He had gained a lot of experience.
Coach Andrew MacDonald said Marsh “did an unbelievable job” covering Cummins without many regular starters.
“We had a lot of moving parts, we had some injuries, we made a lot of substitutions every game, and we made sure we were as ready as possible for the World Cup,” McDonald said.
Marsh will once again rely on his simple approach to batting in all forms of cricket for success. In other words, see the ball, hit the ball. It’s a long road.
This has so far been effective in reviving his career, with the player’s last performance attracting attention in 2021 when he batted at number three in Australia’s first-ever Twenty20 World Cup victory. Then it was effective again in his recollection of Test cricket in July. Four years in England’s Ashes era when he scored 118 run-a-balls (equivalent to a traditional number six batsman).
And the last time Australia was playing white-ball cricket in India, it worked for him. There he rose experimentally from the middle order as a replacement for the retired opener, averaging 97 runs at a strike rate of well over 125 and hitting a dozen sixes in three innings. Aaron Finch.
Marsh was named Player of the Series as Australia won 2-1 with 81 runs off 65 balls, an unbeaten 66 off 36 deliveries and 47 run-a-balls.
Warner missed the first two games of that early series, and when he returned in the decisive third game, he was forced to bat lower than Marsh as the selectors did not want to break the team’s momentum.
After a long career that began with promise in 2011 as the son of Geoff Marsh, who won the 1987 World Cup in India as a player and the 1999 World Cup in England as a coach, Marsh was given another chance to shine, but that chance was never met. I felt threatened. Derailed by injury or inconsistency.
He has scored 31 runs and 5 wickets in just three World Cup matches, including his debut against England in 2015, when Australia won the title on home soil, with 5 wickets and 23 runs.
A 2019 video of Marsh making candid comments about his interactions with and away from national team supporters went viral after winning Australia’s T20 title two years ago. Since then, reception has been mostly good.
Marnus Labuschagne will help strengthen a struggling mid-order team as Australia rely heavily on all-rounders in subcontinental conditions and are likely to rotate fast bowlers like Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott. Dew.
Labuschagne was added to the team later this week after team officials announced Ashton Agar was not recovering from a calf injury. At the same time, the final 15 head members were confirmed.
“He changed his intentions a lot at the crease,” McDonald said after the series in South Africa. Labuschagne was recalled in South Africa amid a series of injuries to other players. “We know Marnus is a quality player. He came in and took the opportunity.”
___
AP Cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
