Addition of Rod Marsh will boost Australian Test team

 
David Lord Columnist

By , 7 Mar 2013 David Lord is a Roar Expert

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    Phil Hughes is gone, but can Australia win? (AP Photo/Chris Crerar)

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    The arrival of Rodney Marsh in India to replace John Inverarity as a selector for the last two Test matches will be a morale boost to the beleaguered baggy greens.

    The former Test keeper-batsman was a no-nonsense player and he’ll bring the same attitude to the selection table, joining skipper Michael Clarke and coach Mickey Arthur.

    His first duty must be taking over the media conferences so cricket fans don’t cop quotes like these from Arthur.

    “Usman Khawja and Steven Smith have got to come into reckoning at some stage,” Arthur said.

    “We’d be silly if we didn’t think about the best top six combination.

    “Whether it’s both Khawaja and Smithplay, whether one plays, or none play I’m not 100 percent sure, but they’ve got to come very much into our thinking.”

    Or the axing of offie Nathan Lyon, first choice spinner since Sri Lanka 2011, and who took only one more Test than Shane Warne to capture 50 wickets:

    “He has technical problems,” said the Australian coach.

    “We have persisted with him because we put a lot of faith in Nathan, but there came a point when we felt he needed to be out of the team to sort out what we think he should be working on.”

    Can any Roarer make any sense out of those two quotes?

    Then there’s Shane Watson, is he returning home for the birth of his first child, or not. For the past fortnight that’s been an ongoing story, and now nothing.

    To further cloud the issues, Don Argus, the author of the Argus Review that has caused so much controversy and bitter debate, has proudly predicted Australia is on track to regain the world number one Test ranking by 2015.

    How can he possibly say that after two serious floggings?

    Argus is rightfully rated one of Australia’s most successful and astute businessmen, but business acumen and what happens in the middle during a Test match are hardly in sync.

    There’s one thing about Rod Marsh he won’t sweep anything under the carpet, he tells the facts warts and all.

    Now that will be a breath of fresh air.