- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Shrouded by a cloud of angst, the Australian camp have given signals they’re ready to hit the panic button.
But the thought process behind the word spreading on considering Mitchell Marsh in the playing XI has raised plenty of eyebrows. While the Australian think tank opted against recalling the all-rounder, it is still tempting to think whether it was the gamble they otherwise needed to take.
Given how influential the left-handers have turned out for the new-ball bowlers of the hosts, the baggy green decided to swing the axe on Usman Khawaja – and understandably so given the elegant left-hander hasn’t stepped up to the task in times of adversity. Khawaja’s highest score in the current series came at Edgbaston in the second innings, striking a breezy 40 to cut down the 90-run deficit.
Nonetheless, the selectors haven’t inserted an extra right-handed batsman in the squad other than the apparent inclusion of Steve Smith. This leaves the two right-handers at the top – Marnus Labushagne and Smith – with the potential task of steering the ship considering the irregularity of the other batsmen remaining in flamboyant touch. Marsh did make a compelling case, displaying his criticality in the warm-up game against Derbyshire.
It wasn’t going to be that easy of a selection. Sure, the younger of the Marsh brothers made a persuasive case, mustering 74 runs and bagging four wickets in the game. Amid that, in the international arena, the going hasn’t been prosperous with either of the Marshes. While coach Justin Langer acclaimed his fitness level and his ability to get the ball swinging, he also stated that Marsh needed to convert his 70s into triple figures. That could have been the ticket for the 27-year-old to the Old Trafford in the playing XI.
To say fitting an extra right-handed batsman in the XI is the only rationale for throwing Marsh into the mix would be partial. Unlike England, who are privileged to have Ben Stokes as a specialist fifth bowling option, the tourists lack in that department. And Ben Stokes not only represented the beast in him by pulling off a heist with the bat, but he also bowled his heart out when Jofra Archer had left the field momentarily.
Having said that, Mitchell Marsh doesn’t come close to becoming Stokes’s contemporary. Sure, any combination of the Aussie pace attack is enough to rattle the English batsmen. However, in Leeds, where the Australian pace trio had over bowled, a bonafide fifth bowler may have done the trick for them.
The fourth Test has begun on a relatively dominant note for the Aussies, albeit after their openers failed for the seventh successive time in the series. Despite carrying the potential to reach a formidable first-innings score, Australia could need an extra bowling alternative to put the Englishmen on the ropes. That gamble, though, counted for all or nothing.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.