Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh hasn’t played a home Test match since 2018, but that five-year drought looks set to end in front of a home crowd in Perth this week.
Western Australian cricket fans have not seen Marsh don the creams since the 2017/18 Ashes, when he smacked a career-best 181 against England at the WACA. Due to injury and fluctuating form, the 32-year-old has slipped in and out of Australia’s Test side in the years since, with Cameron Green replacing him as the preferred No. 6.
Marsh was selected on potential rather than form; his skill was undeniable, but he averaged 25.20 with the bat in Tests before this year’s Ashes campaign in England.
However, after a career-defining six months that featured a captaincy debut, an Ashes masterclass and a World Cup triumph, Marsh enters the 2023/24 home summer as one of the most important members of Australia’s Test squad.
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After four years in Test exile, Marsh slotted into Australia’s middle order when Green picked up a minor hamstring strain on the eve of this winter’s Ashes contest at Headingley; despite initially being picked as an injury replacement, the Bison cracked a 102-ball century to leapfrog Green in the pecking order.
The right-hander’s triumphant comeback mirrored Usman Khawaja’s remarkable return to Test cricket from 18 months earlier; when Travis Head tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the New Year’s fixture in Sydney, the Queenslander had one opportunity to revive his Test career. He scored twin centuries at the SCG and hasn’t missed a Test match since.
“I’d love to be able to do what Uzzie’s done over the last couple of years,” Marsh told Fox Cricket.
“It’s been incredible to watch, and very inspiring. Someone who was out of the team for a fair while and came back at 35. To come in and do what he’s done is very inspiring for guys like me in the space that I’m in in my career
“Hopefully I can emulate him.”
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Once the most mocked cricketer in Australia, Marsh has all of a sudden become a first-choice player in all three formats. He’s a leading contender to lead the country at next year’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States, having served as Pat Cummins’ deputy throughout the 50-over campaign in the subcontinent.
He’s also an immensely popular figure in the Australian change room, exemplified in Amazon’s The Test documentary where he entertained teammates during rain delays and organised coffee walks while on tour.
Marsh is no longer a lightning rod for criticism in Australian cricket, rather one of the national team’s most respected senior figures. At the moment, the biggest threat to his career is his own body.
The West Australian has an unfortunate history of injury, undergoing keyhole surgery on his left ankle last summer to remove loose bone fragments and repair cartilage. Before that, he nearly ruptured a testicle while receiving throwdowns in 2019 and broke his hand after punching a wall during a Sheffield Shield match later that year.
The relentless cricket schedule has made it near-impossible for cricketers to represent their country in all three formats, particularly all-rounders. England superstar Ben Stokes was forced to retire from ODIs last year due to the sport’s “unsustainable” workload, while Green has been battling fatigue after a lengthy winter on the road.
Marsh’s focus has shifted towards batting since last year’s surgery, with the seamer only bowling 13 overs during the World Cup – but managing his fitness looms as the all-rounder’s biggest challenge ahead of another busy home summer.
“Mitch’s biggest hurdle is going to be whether he can stay on the park, whether his body will allow him to play Test cricket,” Khawaja told Fox Cricket.
“Test cricket isn’t easy, particularly when you’ve got to bat and bowl.
“The question mark is just going to be whether his body can sustain Test match cricket for a long time.
“He’s a very good T20 cricketer, plays white-ball for Australia. Can he manage all that?
“Test cricket’s the hardest on your body, that’s probably going to be the only question mark.
“If he can’t stay on the park consistently, then you can’t have a spot in the team.
“He knows that, and that’s going to be the battle for him.”
Marsh is also yet to score a Test century against a nation other than England; he averages 47.07 in the Ashes and 20.75 across his other 44 Test knocks.
Juggling three formats of international cricket plus IPL commitments won’t be easy for the injury-prone Marsh, but he’s sticking to a simple philosophy for how to deal with the workload.
“The lessons I’ve taken from throughout my career is take it series by series,” Marsh said.
“I appreciate that might sound a bit cliche, but the scale of international cricket these days is you can’t look too far ahead.
“I’ll do everything I can to look after my body.
“There’s so much cricket ahead, we’ll have to wait and see.”
The first Test between Australia and Pakistan gets underway at Perth Stadium on Thursday, with the first ball scheduled for 1.20pm AEDT.