Marsh ready to don green and gold

Shaun Marsh is the first person to admit he stuffed up. Riding high on the back of a fledgling cricket career, Marsh’s life was turned upside down last November when the WACA slapped him with a two-match ban for his participation in a marathon drinking session with Warriors teammate Luke Pomersbach the weekend before a match.

It was a dark chapter in Marsh’s life but it has also proved to be the turning point of his career.

Marsh, the son of former Australian opener Geoff Marsh, is on the verge of making his one-day debut for Australia in the upcoming limited-overs series against the West Indies.

With Adam Gilchrist retired and Matthew Hayden out with an Achilles injury, Shane Watson, James Hopes and Marsh will battle it out for two vacant opening spots.

Should Marsh be given the nod it will cap a remarkable turnaround for a career that at one point looked likely to derail.

“I knew that I’d stuffed up big time so I had to look myself in the mirror and realise what I wanted to do in life, and that was to play cricket,” Marsh said of the transgression.

“What I was doing wasn’t helping it.

“It was a turning point in my career I guess and from that day on I made sure I was doing all the right things on and off the park and wanting to reach my goal, and that was to play for Australia.

“It wasn’t the greatest part of my career so far but I’ll learn a lot of things from it and it’s gotten me to where I am right now.”

Marsh’s life has been turned upside down for all the right reasons since his misdemeanour.

A sparkling finish to last summer’s domestic campaign saw him awarded WA’s Most Valuable Player award, while a Cricket Australia contract came knocking shortly after.

His performances in the Indian Premier League rubber-stamped the 24-year-old’s arrival on the world stage.

In 11 games for the Kings XI Punjab, Marsh plundered 616 runs at 68.44 to finish the tournament as the competition’s leading run-scorer, propelling him to superstar status in cricket-mad India.

Now Marsh believes he’s ready to don the green and gold for Australia.

“I know if I do get that opportunity that I’m ready to go and I’ve just got to grab it with both hands,” he said.

“I’m very confident. I’m hitting the ball as well as I’ve ever hit it at the moment.

“The IPL was a great lead-up.

“Obviously not the same as playing for your country but it’s not too far away – playing with and against all the greatest players in the world.”

Australia play the West Indies in a Twenty20 fixture at Kensington Oval on June 20 before meeting in five one-day fixtures.