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Shaun Marsh made some emphatic statements at Etihad Stadium last night: 99 of them.Playing for the Perth Scorchers against the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League, Marsh set out to prove he was fit enough to play in the Boxing Day Test against India.
And he did, to a point.
His suspect back gave him no problems during his blistering 52-ball dig that included nine fours and five sixes to finish unbeaten on 99, winning the game with a six.
The litmus test will be today and tomorrow to see if the painful back spasms resurface. Hopefully not, as Marsh declared last night: “It’s every cricketer’s dream to play in a Boxing Day Test at the MCG in front of 75,000 fans”.
Marsh’s father Geoff would agree with that sentiment, having played seven of his 50 Tests on that hallowed day.
Even if Marsh survives the next couple of days, there’s still no guarantee he’ll last a five-day Test when he’s had only that one Big Bash game in six weeks.
But the selectors are obviously keen to take that punt, which makes “Punter” Ponting’s position in the X1 decidedly shaky.
The selectors named a 13-man squad to cover if Marsh physically fell apart last night. The fact that he didn’t means two have to be left out.
It won’t be David Warner, Ed Cowan on debut, Marsh, Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, Brad Haddin, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, or Nathan Lyon.
That leaves Ponting, all-rounder Dan Christian, and the two quicks Mitchell Starc and Ben Hilfenhaus to fill two spots, and the 12th man, with the other to return state-side.
Skipper Clarke has already flagged the heavy-hitting and in-form Christian as number 6 in the batting order. That’s 10, and for team balance the last spot must be either Starc or Hilfenhaus, leaving Ponting out in the cold.
So which three of John Inverarity, Rod Marsh, Andy Bichel, Michael Clarke, and Mickey Arthur are going to end Ricky Ponting’s stellar career?
This could be one of Australian cricket’s most poignant moments, matching the shock dismissal of Bill Lawry in 1971.