On 19 of November of last year promising young left-arm South Australian quick Nick Winter ran in to bowl to Shaun Marsh, who was ready at the crease on 97 not out.
The ball was fast, full, and straight, threatening both wickets and the pads. Marsh dismissed the delivery in the same manner as countless Sheffield Shield bowlers have become accustomed to.
With effortless timing and precision, the ball travelled only a couple of metres to the right of the deep midwicket fielder, but the pace of the shot and the fast outfield carried it to its inevitable destination. Marsh raised his bat and helmet with what can only be called a grimace to the small Adelaide Oval crowd. He would go on to score an unbeaten 163, guiding Western Australia to the imposing target of 313 with five wickets in hand.
At that point, only a few weeks back from a disastrous tour of the UAE, Marsh returned to the Shield with totals of 80, 98, 21, and 163* to remind everyone once again of his vast skill set with bat in hand. The demur manner in which he celebrated the achievement suggested that his thought process was shared by many around Australia – how can someone so clearly above Shield level consistently fail in the Test arena?
His Test numbers make unremarkable reading given the shadows cast on the top order of the Australian team by past greats. In 38 matches he scored 2,265 runs at 34.31, six tons and ten centuries. He has a top score of 181.
And, more recently, Marsh’s readoption of the coloured strip for the ODIs has brought yet another century, his fourth in eight matches, during which he’s scored 577 runs at 72.12. That’s twice the next-best Australian bat Alex Carey, way down at 30.57 over that period.
For a public that’s at best apathetic towards both the ODI format and the player, those figures have failed to mask his failure to make it work when it matters most in white.
He’s the enigma of Australian cricket, the undefinable object of countless judgement. His cover drives are as beautiful as Mike Hussey’s and as strong as Matt Hayden’s when they’re not flying to first slip. He can pull with much the same authority as Ricky Ponting yet at times can inspire as little confidence as Glenn McGrath at the crease. There’s a season for everything with Geoff Marsh’s son.
Of course that’s not to say that he hasn’t played hugely significant roles in past Australian innings. He was the only centurion in Sri Lanka 2016 other than the incomparable Steve Smith, and for years he had one of the country’s best averages in Asia, although that’s since slipped to 32.5.
His century under lights in Adelaide 2017 was nothing short of magnificent in conditions in which many lesser bats struggled. Perhaps above all stands his 197-ball defiance under siege in Ranchi 2017 to take the series to a defining fourth Test the last time Australia faced India.
(Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
It’s a case of what could have been for the man now probably past comeback age after being dropped for the short visit of Sri Lanka. Perhaps if he wasn’t as capable of the utter dominance he’s displayed at times at state level, he may not have faced the same malign from a social media-equipped public.
You can define sport as an expression of our need for a hero, much as you can cinema or a novel. Marsh, given so many opportunities to fill that role, has in nearly 40 Tests failed to ever truly grasp what was so consistently offered to him.
In Sydney this year a familiar sigh of despair was exhaled around the country when he nicked to slip from an innocuous Ravindra Jadeja delivery outside off. It will be perhaps the last time a red ball flies obliquely towards the cordon off his bat at the international level.
The man with Australia’s most aesthetic strokeplay will not be remembered for those cover drives in Adelaide, for his concentration marathon in Ranchi or for his consistent punishment of the white ball around the globe. Unfortunately he’ll be known for what he left in the tank, not out on the field.
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
Why isn't there a Thumbs Down option on this forum?
Rob
Guest
Me to. I mourn for all the cricketers that never had that many opportunities.
Miles Katay
Roar Rookie
If anything, that series proves what I’m essentially saying - he always had the capability (as in Ranchi - which was the third Test btw), but never delivered consistently. That’s fairly uncontroversial, though. Anyway, I was trying to mourn his Test career, not celebrate it!
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
What one day cricket provides these days is flat wickets. So a player averaging more in one dayers is not a suprise. Marsh is not a Bevan where Bevan used his running between the wickets to get a huge average. He is more a hitter than runner whereas Bevan would have been less effective in T20. Where Shaun Marsh has actually excelled in is T20 leagues. His average of 40 there is very good.
Ad-O
Guest
Pfft, yeah right. First player that pulls up lame during the Ashes and he'll be straight on the plane. And you know it.
anon
Roar Pro
Shauny averages 29 in Asia. He's not really an 'Asian specialist' either.
Rob
Guest
Sorry Miles and Peter you're right. Scary that he faced the exact same amount in the 2nd Test also. On checking though it's important that people also realise that Smith, Renshaw, Maxwell, Handscomb and even Wade contributed more or less than Marsh in saving that match. Shaun finished 8th in Australia's batting averages for that series.
Paul
Roar Guru
That late '70's/early '80's era produced a lot who were nearly there but not quite - Peter Toohey, Dirk Wellham, Alan Turner, Rick McCosker (although getting his jaw busted in a gazillion pieces probably didn't help his career), Gary Cosier, Ian Davis, Glenn Trimble, Martin Kent, Wally Edwards - and they were just the batsmen!!
Peter Warrington
Guest
I reckon we have had a few - Hookes. Yallop. Dyson even. Wood. lots of runs, scores, but not consistent so dropped often. Paul Sheahan, even.
Peter Warrington
Guest
I agree overall, but it was the third test, it was 1-1 at the time. That was when Maxi helped Smith set us up. A 60 over/190 run partnership that seemed to make no impression on the former boy genius.
Bunney
Roar Rookie
Well said Rob
Rob
Guest
You lost me with the “197 ball defiance under siege in Ranchi 2017 to take the series to a defining 4th Test the last time Australia faced India “. He averaged 18 over that series against India. It was the second Test and Australia were leading 1-0. Renshaw and Smith did the heavy lifting in the first 2 games. His Test average against India is 22.4, against Pakistan 3.5. He basically dined out on SRi Lanka averaging 78 dating back to a series in 2011. So the Asia spin master is very flaky almost like comparing J. Gillespie average of 247 against Bangladesh as proof of being better than Bradman in Asian conditions. You can find articles questioning Shaun’s Tests selection going as far back as before 2014 when his average was 34. He has batted the entire summer at 4 against India? He’s been given so much opportunity over the other cricketers of his generation that his achievements are now unfortunately laughed off by a majority of Australians fans east of Kalgoorlie. Again not his fault. It’s CA nepotism at it’s best/worst.
Paul
Roar Guru
"– how can someone so clearly above Shield level consistently fail in the Test arena?" Is he? A first class average of 40 suggests he is a good Shield player but you're implying he's a class above. He might be a class above the current crop of players, but take it back a few years and he'd be middle of the pack at best. No doubt Marsh had the batting skill to play Tests otherwise he wouldn't have made 2200 Test runs, but was he ever better than mediocre/poor at this level - very occasionally.
CUW
Roar Rookie
It is obvios that he is not good when the ball swings or seams. he makes runs in Asia - where the swing and seam is much less than a place like England or South Africa and even Ausssy. he is simply not a test batter when the ball moves add to that despite playing a lot of IPL he is still not very sure playing spin , which is strange coz batters play 1000s of balls in the nets at IPL. at least he is a better batter than his little brother :)
anon
Roar Pro
Hitting them well in the nets, has a lot of potential, doing all the right things in training, goes on to make a solid score when he doesn't get out cheaply 40% of the time. He's not an enigma. Decent ODI player, mediocre Test player. Doesn't have the bottle for Tests. Never will at his age.
Peter Warrington
Guest
Maybe he could find some sense of career peace from leading the white ball teams for a few years?
Kopa Shamsu
Guest
"His cover drives are as beautiful as Mike Hussey’s and as strong as Matt Hayden’s when they’re not flying to first slip." Yaa, I can make a century too as long as I don't get out. I hit them wonderfully in the nets. Hopefully my "memoriam" will be up for grabs soon too.