The loss of James Pattinson for the rest of the Ashes tour is no doubt a big one for the Australian team.
However, it presents an opportunity to breathe life and hope into this series that is turning out to be a clean sweep by the England side as most Australian fans feared, provided a shrewd and savvy replacement is made.
The conventional replacement for Pattinson would to bring in Pat Cummins from the Australia A tour. The problem with this is that Australia doesn’t need another fast bowler to turn this series around, especially if he is just going to carry the drinks for three Tests.
If Australia has any hope of turning this series around it must inject its most talented batsman available into the line-up. And while Shaun Marsh is considered by many fans as a wasted talent who hasn’t got what it takes at the Test level, I would argue that if you ask any ex-Test cricketer, most would say that Marsh is the most talented batsmen outside the current Ashes squad.
Marsh is the only batsman available that is a proven century scorer at Test level. Sure, he has been out of form in recent seasons and doesn’t have a mountain of first-class runs under his belt, but from all accounts has been due to personal reasons and a serious back injury.
The same excuses cannot be said for the plethora of batsmen in the current squad who are pretty much playing to their ability and still not scoring enough runs.
The other common argument against Marsh is that he is around 30 years old and has reached his peak, which is a completely bogus argument. This is the prime age of a batsman and not so long ago was the entry age to the Australian side with a good five or so years ahead.
Sure, there is a risk in selecting Marsh, but it cannot get any worse and high rewards are at stake if he plays to his ability as he very well could turn the Ashes on its head if he does so.
All it takes is for him to be put in the right environment to get the best out of his performances, and what better occasion than the Ashes on the line.
Further, Darren Lehmann’s guidance, and to a lesser extent Michael Clarke’s support, should provide a great platform for him to re-enter the Test arena.
Given the current plight, perhaps there couldn’t be a better time to make such a bold move and have England at least start second guessing themselves and Australia to find a chink in their armour.
For what it’s worth, the Australian XI that would have England most concerned heading into Old Trafford would be: Rogers, Marsh, Kawajha, Clarke, Watson, Smith/Hughes, Haddin, Agar, Starc, Siddle and Harris.
There are enough deft changes in this side to produce a much more competitive performance in the third Test. And if Marsh is considered too risky a move, the next best side would be to seriously consider playing five specialist bowlers and shift Hughes to opener.
These are not times the Australian side has the luxury to wait around and force Marsh to score a high volume of runs in first-class cricket for two years before re-considering him in the Test arena again.
It’s time the selectors turn a negative into a positive, recognise his rare talent and do whatever it takes to get the most out of his talent before it’s too late.
Our resources, or lack thereof, give us no room to hesitate and waste our best talent available anymore, otherwise we will continue on a journey of disappointing series results in the future.
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