- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
National selectors mustn’t make the same mistake again with Shaun Marsh. The 28 year-old left-hander has had two vastly different Test “careers”. The first against Sri Lanka with an outstanding 141 on debut, followed by 81, and 18, then 44 and a duck against South Africa.
Average 56.80.
Then six digs against India – 0, 3, 0, 11, 3, 0 – average 2.83.
In between those “careers” was an eight-week enforced break with a serious back problem that has plagued him from time to time over the years.
The first mistake the national selectors made was to recognise the blistering 99 not out off 52 deliveries Marsh made on return to the Big Bash League, that included nine fours and five sixes.
The selectors rushed Marsh into the first Test team against India at the expense of Usman Khawaja to start the nightmare run of outs.
Why was Marsh picked over Khawaja in the first place?
Marsh has scored only seven first class tons for Western Australia in 125 digs, averaging 37.51. Khawaja nine centuries in 42 innings for NSW at 45.12.
Dropped from the national 50-over squad, Marsh made 79 yesterday at the Gabba for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield.
The final score looks good on paper, as do the 13 boundaries: 52 out of 79.
But the real issue was surviving the first ball from Luke Feldman as Marsh nervously prodded forward, and a confident leg before facing Ben Cutting – both before Marsh had scored, and the two scoring shots in the first 26 deliveries faced, being dropped at 34 off leggie Cameron Boyce, and the three hours at the crease.
Shades of the unbeaten 99 to be recognised again and head for the West Indies?
That would be a travisty of justice with Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch far better credentialed.