Shaun Marsh pushed his case for Australia’s Test tour of India early next year with a wonderful century which helped put the tourists in a competitive position in the third Test in Sri Lanka.
In dumping two players with fine Test records, Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja, the Australia selectors may well have signalled they intend to pursue a horses-for-course policy for the four Tests in India.
With his strong Test figures in Asia, Marsh likely would be a beneficiary of such a policy. On a dry Colombo pitch, the elder Marsh brother was calm and organised against spin, in stark contrast to the flighty efforts of many of his teammates in this series. All too often when facing spin in Sri Lanka, the visiting batsmen have looked panicked and bereft of a plan.
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I would wager that a key reason Burns and Khawaja were dropped after only two bad Tests is because neither of them had displayed a clear strategy about how they intended to counter the slow bowlers. They have not been alone in this regard, though.
The Sri Lankan spinners have delighted in connecting the dots, slowly ratcheting up the pressure on the Australian batsmen. The best players of spin all tend to have one piece of advice in common – rotation of the strike is paramount.
Marsh and Smith both had clear plans of how to get down to the non-striker’s end. The left hander used his feet nicely and, crucially, did not come down the wicket looking just to hit boundaries. Regularly he advanced to the tweakers and, having got to the pitch of the ball, drove or nudged them for a single.
Having shown the bowler he was adept at using his feet, Marsh then looked for opportunities to get back deep in his crease. From that position he regularly sliced the ball away square on the offside, or clipped it through the leg side with a straight bat.
Most noticeably, Marsh never was flustered by the Sri Lankan tweakers. Even when they managed to direct a maiden over at him, or beat his outside edge, it never looked to affect him mentally.
He did not respond with a rash shot or a risky single but instead trusted his technique and strategy and just kept on grinding away.
Although there are six Tests against South Africa and Pakistan to be played before the series in India, Marsh’s fluency against spin in this match may already have helped book him a spot on that tour. At the other end, Smith compiled the kind of mature, neat century which had been expected of him all series.
He also used his feet beautifully, forcing the Sri Lankan spinners to second-guess their lengths. Unlike earlier in the series, Smith didn’t come down the track looking to belt the bowlers, but rather just to get to the pitch of the ball and then play it on its merits.
While Smith endures “home-track bully” taunts far more often than fellow Test batting young guns Joe Root and Kane Williamson, he has a comfortably better record away from home than either cricketer. Smith averages 40-plus with the bat in all eight countries where he has played Test cricket, and averages 55 overall away from home.
To underscore just how impressive those two stats are, neither of them are matched by any of the other batsmen in the top ten of the ICC Test rankings.
It must be said that Australia desperately needed their captain to produce such a ton at Galle or Kandy, rather than in a dead rubber. But the tourists will be able to take heart from the plucky and skilful displays by Smith and Marsh as they look ahead to the biggest challenge in Test cricket – playing India on the road.
Rob JM
Guest
Spin bowling batting alrounder. Obviously would like to see some red ball form first. Otherwise Stoinis.
howzyapappa
Guest
Fair point, Rellum. Henriques is selected and does not bowl. Mitch Marsh is grossly under-bowled in my opinion. He has taken 27 test wickets at 34 which is hardly rubbish, but it seems he takes a wicket, the Captain thanks him and he is sent off to Neverland. It was the same when Clarke captained him. I am not sure what the thinking is. It is a bit like buying the car of your dreams, and parking it in the garage. Conversely, Nathan Lyon averages nearly 33 per wicket and seems to be the flavour of the month. Not to be nasty to him, because I like to watch him bowl, but I don't understand why Marsh is being nursed
howzyapappa
Guest
I would have thought that at the start of the series. To take 3 spinners. But it is our pace bowlers who have had more success in this series. There seems to be a certain style of spin bowling in Sri Lanka and I am sure that won't happen overnight. I would like to see Mitch Marsh get more bowling. He seems to come on. Take a wicket. Then bugger off to the outfield. It is confusing.
craig swanson
Guest
Maxwell?
craig swanson
Guest
I can imagine our grievances are well founded playing over here. They are a relatively poor country are they not?. Is this the reason also for their non use of Red Spot, Snicko and other whizz bang DRS technology? The ICC should move in and supply this technology to all countries..
craig swanson
Guest
Well said. It is always great us winning at home, SA and NZ but our nemesis' and the countries that should occupy most of CA's thinking are India and England. We last won in India in 2004 and England in 2001. A long time between drinks fellas.
craig swanson
Guest
Reckon you are both wrong. Red wine Rod has made it clear to Khawaja and Burns they are still very much in the mix for the summer tests. So they should be.. SOS2 selection was on a horses for courses basis as he scored a ton and averaged highly the last time he toured SL.
craig swanson
Guest
Maxwell #6?
Marshall
Guest
Wrong coloured baggy cap in the shield mate
Paul D
Roar Guru
Not right now, no, but that's not to say there won't be in future if such a policy was adopted.
rtp
Guest
What are you talking about? I don't think anybody has blamed the pitches as being unfair. They are exactly what we would expect in Asia. Our batsmen have been poor. Oddly, we are closer in this match but the selections are about as bewildering as I have ever seen. I have no problem with M Marsh given that he can actually play spin to some extent. But 4 seamers!!!!????!!! You only had to look at the batting order to see it was 3 out all out. And so it came to pass. Sure our bowlers haven't been great but given that Starc is the one only quick bowler to have done anything useful you have to wonder what drugs the selectors were smoking to put Henriques in. They needed an extra spinner and an extra batter. So Maxwell was the obvious choice over Hazelwood. And UK should have been replaced with someone who isn't a bits and pieces player.
rtp
Guest
Perfect Rob. There is zero chance India is going to provide pitches that are remotely quick given they will be terrified of Starc. Three spinners and a deep batting order is the way to go. I'm not a great fan of Burns anywhere to be honest whereas UK should stay in the team when we aren't playing in Asia.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Marsh almost always returns well. The real indication of improvement will be in coming tests.
Lancey5times
Guest
I agree. And that my friend is where the real problem lies. The swinging Duke ball
Rowan
Roar Rookie
The pitch and its supposed demons have taken a break....but worry not, it will return if the Aussies capitulate on day 5. If they win, not another word about the SSC wicket. The Sri Lankan press has hit back at the Aussie petulance (see link below). No chance of it getting a run in any Australian media....faint chance to get a run here on the Roar. 4 centuries and 50 in the first three days.....its a road mate! http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=150396
matth
Guest
I'd rather be good at home and in SA/NZ, but that should also translate as winning an Ashes series in England please. Then I'm happy to get smashed in Asia every time.
matth
Guest
You could be right there. Marsh deserves a longer stint now for sure. And Bancroft is waiting in the wings.
matth
Guest
If they wanted a batting seamer as a back up, how Henriques got picked ahead of Stoinis is beyond me. Jimmy Hopes must wonder how he never got a test.
matth
Guest
That sounds great except that Australia would not have a single batsman who could be classified as a spin specialist. Although S Marsh is making a case to be that I also think he has just been in good form for two years now and has been scoring well for Australia when given the opportunity in all conditions.
Paul D
Roar Guru
Yes, we do Lancey. The reason we don't play 3 spinners is that we also have to play to our strengths which is pace bowling, and avoid playing to the opposition's strengths - which usually involves belting our spinners out of the attack.