Can Mitch Marsh be a genuine Test star?

The Marsh brothers are two of the most polarising cricketers in the country. Elder brother Shaun has disappointed throughout his long career, with his unwarranted selection for the current Test tour of South Africa prompting a heavy backlash.

His younger sibling, meanwhile, is lauded by some for his precocious talent, while being derided by others as a style-over-substance player.

Mitch draws a fierce level of criticism, much of it based on his supposed inability to capitalise on his potential.

Yet he only recently turned 22 years old.

Almost half of Australia’s Ashes-winning team had not even made their first-class debut by the time they were 22 – namely Ryan Harris, David Warner, Brad Haddin, Nathan Lyon and George Bailey.

Granted, Mitch does seem to have been around for eons.

That is because he was such a freakishly brilliant junior cricketer that he earned a Shield cap at just 17 years old.

Mitch was only 19 when he made his T20 and ODI debuts in South Africa slightly more than two years ago.

In his first innings for Australia, he dismantled one of the most intimidating bowlers in world cricket, two-metre tall South African quick Morne Morkel.

Showcasing a thrilling blend of timing and ferocious power, Mitch thrice dispatched Morkel into the crowd in the final over of Australia’s innings in the T20 match in Johannesburg.

First he muscled a flat strike over long on.

Next ball he executed a remarkable lofted cover drive which landed 20 rows into the spectators.

Finally he opened up his stance and eviscerated a full-length delivery from Morkel, sending it over mid-wicket into the second tier of the stands.

The confidence he gained from that exposure to international cricket seemingly flowed through into his domestic performances in the 2011-12 summer, although not in the way expected.

While it was his robust ball striking which had so excited Cricket Australia and Aussie fans, his nippy pace bowling came to the fore that season.

Mitch took 17 wickets at 19 from five matches in the Sheffield Shield, utilising his natural swing to become a genuine strike bowler for Western Australia.

However, at the same time his batting showed no development.

That needs to change, as it is Mitch’s deeds with the blade which will very likely earn him future opportunities to play for Australia.

He is a gifted bowler but cannot compete with fellow young quicks like James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.

If Mitch is to contend for a spot in the Test side, in particular, it is likely to be as an all-rounder batting in the middle order.

The Australian selectors and coach Darren Lehmann clearly value the versatility offered by Shane Watson.

The veteran all-rounder is injury-prone and, at 32, is unlikely to play for more than another two years.

Mitch will be battling the likes of Tasmanian James Faulkner to earn the right to replace Watson, should the selectors seek to replace him with a similarly multi-skilled cricketer.

His efforts with the blade in the Sheffield Shield have been consistently underwhelming.

Over 32 first-class matches he has averaged 25 with only one century.

Mitch historically has been far more impressive in 50-over and T20 cricket, averaging 34 and 30 with the bat respectively.

In those formats there is less scrutiny of his shaky defence and often questionable shot selection.

He remains well shy of being a solid first-class batsman and is perhaps lucky to have suited up for Western Australia in so many Shield games.

But few all-rounders are anything close to the finished article at his age.

Mitch, who has been blighted by frequent injuries during his fledgling career, has given cause for optimism this summer.

He has shown much-improved consistency in the Shield, with 307 runs at 38, to go with seven wickets.

Whether he will end up exploiting his gifts is anyone’s guess.