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Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh should sit down over a beer with Wallaby utility forward Dean Mumm and discuss how they keep being selected despite having no form.
Apart from isolated moments. 32-year-old Mumm has been a passenger for eight rugby Tests this year, and he’ll back up again at the weekend against the Pumas at Twickenham.
Marsh will be 25 at the end of the month, but he’s been a passenger for a lot longer than Mumm.
And that applies to all three cricket formats.
With the bat, Marsh’s last 21 Test digs have been – 13, 27*,0, 6, 3, 2, 24, 1, 4, 28, 1*, 18*, 23, 0, 18, 34, 25, 27, 18, 52 and 9.
His last 10 ODI digs – 9*, 8, 9, 10, 16, 79*, 22, 31, 19, and 2.
His entire T20 batting career – 36, 0*, 13, 13, 36, 2*, 4*, 24, and 6.
Batting totals and averages:
Tests – 340 at 18.89.
ODI – 195 at 24.37.
T20 – 133 at 22.17.
Nothing to write home about Marsh’s batting, and it’s the same sorry story with the ball.
Wickets and averages in the same games as the above batting.
Tests – 20-485, average 24.25.
OI – 7-332, average 47.43.
T20 – 4-145, average 36.25.
Marsh’s role is batsman first priority, bowling second.
Usman Khawaja hasn’t been able to crack a start in the first three ODIs in South Africa when he should have been one of the first picked.
In a perfect world, the order in South Africa should read David Warner, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, George Bailey then Marsh.
His failures wouldn’t be so noticeable with the run-getters in the top five firing.
But the Marsh failures and no Khawaja have added pressure to Marsh’s bowling which isn’t producing either.
And that’s even more critical with no Mitchell Starc or Josh Hazlewood in South Africa, nor the injured James Pattinson and Peter Siddle.
Pacemen Stuart Boland, Chris Tremain, and Daniel Worrall are a long way from international standard, so the selectors were looking to Marsh to fill the bill with ageless John Hastings who has proved to be a far better proposition than Marsh with both bat and ball.
And Hastings is a month away from his 31st birthday, having debuted in 2010.
So for now Mitchell Marsh is virtually untouchable, which is not doing him any favours, nor the Australian team.