It’s late on day four of the Oval Test. Mitchell Marsh is in the midst of a bludgeoning rear-guard as Australia recover from a precarious 5/100 chasing England’s 257 to reclaim the urn.
It is a total that has been made possible by Marsh’s 5/33 – a superb display of reverse-swing bowling to unsettle the Poms from a comfortable position. Marsh thrashes Ben Stokes to the cover boundary to move to 103*, he salutes the crowd knowing the job isn’t quite down, but Australia are now firm favourites and are on the cusp of reclaiming the Ashes.
This is what Marsh could be. This is what Marsh should be. This is what Marsh is far from.
***
In a parallel universe, that’s text from the 2019 Ashes series in England. A universe where Marsh is the player that evolved from a talented youngster. A player that is delivering on the promise illustrated at the 2010 under-19s World Cup, where he captained Australia.
A player that is actually living up to the lofty Jacques Kallis comparisons. Back in our universe, Marsh isn’t delivering on the hype that surrounded him coming through the junior ranks. Far from it. He has, however, played 21 Tests. Fortuitously, he has been given a lengthy run in the team, without ever really justifying his place.
Now, having been sent home from India with a shoulder injury, it’s likely he won’t walk straight back into the Test team when he recovers, a result of his struggles at the crease.
Marsh has time on his side and Australia can’t give up on him just yet, but something’s got to give if he’s to realise his potential and regain his place in the Test team. Here’s how he can turn things around.
Step 1 – Review his technique
Marsh is a powerful batsman and a big hitter, but that instinct to go hard is his downfall in defence. When Marsh was dropped from the Test side this summer he was instructed to tighten up his defensive technique.
The same shoulder injury that resulted in him being flown home from India scuppered those plans, and then Marsh was inexplicably reinstalled into the Test team despite never actually addressing those same flaws. Over the off-season Marsh needs to work on defending with soft hands, like Chris Rogers so excellently did.
Step 2 – Learn to rotate the strike
Marsh suffers from one of Shane Watson’s biggest problems – an inability to rotate the strike. Marsh largely relies on boundaries as his source of runs, but the art of good batting lies in generating ones and twos. By rotating the strike, you upset the bowler’s rhythm. It disrupts bowling plans and keeps the runs flowing, putting scoreboard pressure back on the fielding team.
In Test cricket, 56 per cent of Marsh’s runs have come in boundaries. Comparatively, the modern era’s best batsmen boast a lower percentage; Steven Smith (48 per cent), Virat Kohli (47 per cent), Kane Williamson (44 per cent) and Joe Root (46 per cent).
Step 3 – Forget the IPL
It’s easy for an armchair critic to ask a cricketer to forgo hundreds of thousands of dollars but realistically it’s the best thing Marsh can do for his Test career. By missing the IPL Marsh will be able to put time into his batting and work on his technical flaws with specialist coaches, rather than ignore his weaknesses like a hefty credit card bill.
Step 4 – Go to England
Most of Australia would love to send Marsh to the UK on a one-way ticket with a pat on the bum, but alas, this suggestion is merely for a County contract. Instead of slamming sixes in India, Marsh should spend his Australian winter with an English county playing red ball cricket – the more first class experience he can get the better.
Marsh, like several Australian bats, was badly exposed on seam-friendly English wickets in the 2015 Ashes. A season in the UK would enable him to work on his technique, particularly in conditions where playing with soft hands is so vital.
Marsh has been blessed with opportunities at Test level, opportunities the likes of which Brad Hodge, Martin Love, Tim Paine and Michael Klinger would kill for. Now, the onus is on Marsh to reward the blind faith constantly shown by the selectors with effort and application. He can turn things around but it’s going to take sacrifice and hard work.
Fergus
Roar Rookie
Mitch marsh must have read this guide
Rob
Guest
What runs does he have in Shield Cricket of late? The last hundred he scored was in 2013 from what I could find.
Adrian
Guest
Mitchell Marsh had a great start to his domestic career, as a bowler. The problem is that, as the son of Geoff Marsh, the opening batsman, it was thought that he'd be a batsman too. Except that he wasn't. He never has been. By being forced to focus on his batting, his bowling has weakened. Really he should give up on trying to be a brilliant batsman and focus on being a good bowler. He is not an all-rounder. Never has been. He has the potential to be a test-level bowler but he will never be a number 6 batsman or an all-rounder. It was just a bad idea to try it. James Faulkner is Australia's best all-rounder. Faulkner is the one that should be batting at 6. Mitchell Marsh should be working on his technique as a bowler and seeing if he can replace another great Mitchell, in Starc, or perhaps even emulate another great Mitchell, in Johnson. Mitchell Marsh is a bowler, not a batsman, and certainly not an all-rounder.
danno
Guest
He echoes his older brother, S Marsh should be one of the first picked with the talent he was given but is still a test by test basis at 33 years. He made a 100 when he was 19 for WA which S Waugh described as the best he had seen from a young batsman. Never lived up to the hype.
Andrew Young
Roar Guru
Agreed, Basil. However, I am in no way suggesting he deserves preferential treatment, just that I feel his improvement would be aided by spending time in England/ away from the IPL. In terms of why we are discussing his "fixing" as opposed to others, it's simply because he is the one on our radar. If Stoinis comes to our attention as "needing fixing", then maybe a similar article would appear on him.
Basil
Guest
Why do we need to fix Mitch Marsh? Why aren't we saying how to fix Marcus Stoinis or any other player? Why is Marsh just expected to be in the lineup? He should be judged as any other player.... on merit. No preferential treatment. If he's good enough, pick him; if not, don't.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
"He just needs bat for long periods and get the runs in domestic cricket first." Marsh has zero problems making runs in first-class cricket - he's averaged mid-40s with the bat over the past three years outside of Tests. He just can't translate that good form to Tests.
Andrew Young
Roar Guru
I love the last two points. Great way to develop him as a cricketer and to gain some confidence and experience away from the harsh spotlight we place on him. Great deal of talent, not doubt. Perhaps hamstrung a touch by the pressure a nation of fans (justifiably) places on him. Take some time in England, take a season away from the IPL and come back a good test cricketer!
Keagan Ryan
Roar Guru
Working on his game at First Class level is a start, but Marsh has some glaring technical deficiencies he needs to iron out too. Despite that, I think he has earnt his place in ODI cricket and I'd continue picking him in that team, just not the Test team
Keagan Ryan
Roar Guru
By the sounds of it the pitch for the next Test is a road, so we probably would've sought that fifth bowling option. Now whether that's Maxwell, Agar or Marsh, who knows - but at some point Marsh was going to lose his spot, he's simply not up to Test cricket yet. I tend to agree with you though. If there's no standout all-round option then play a sixth bat.
Pedro the Maroon
Guest
Not sure why we're still talking about Marsh. And why we are still obsessed about all-rounders? The experiment has been tried since Gilly retired and it has been a failure. Sure Watto was technically an all-rounder - he bowled tight spells and wickets invariably fell at the other end. But Watto could actually bat. I'd like to see Burns in at 6 instead of M Marsh. So far this calendar year, Joe Burns has almost 400 Shield runs at 76. And his slip catching has been nothing short of phenomenal. Plus he was also captain last game in place of the injured Chris Hartley. Don't worry Joe - your time must come again. He was dropped after a couple of bad tests, like Kwaja. But Burns' test average is still 16 runs higher than M Marsh (and about the same as S Marsh who at 34 must eventually make way for Kwaja whose average is a whopping 48). The big question - if M Marsh was not injured, would he have been dropped?
Rob
Guest
He just needs bat for long periods and get the runs in domestic cricket first. If he can average 35-40 you could start thinking about him batting 6 or 7 at international level.
Keagan Ryan
Roar Guru
True, and as mentioned in the article it's easy for us to slag him about playing in the IPL. But if Marsh is serious about realising his potential I think one or two seasons away from the IPL, so he can work on his technique, is a necessity.
Keagan Ryan
Roar Guru
Spot on with his bowling, but if Marsh is going to claim a spot in the Test side (at number 6/7) it's his batting that's going to get him there. His upside as a bowler alone won't get him a start.
Andy Thompson
Roar Pro
Forgetting the IPL is all well and good but you're not a sportsman with 10-15 years of a career to make the most of.
Jameswm
Guest
Why? I haven't given up on him. He might still become a valuable test cricketer. He could become wristier, less side on and get his back foot across so his eyes are behind the ball - a la Smith. Learning from Rogers about not getting out, esp in England - smart advice. His bowling is good but not the finished article.
Hugo au Gogo
Roar Rookie
Loved the 3rd paragraph. Succinct and on the money.
DingoGray
Roar Guru
Step 5, Stay in England