‘Marsh got a skill set that could be helpful in Ashes’, says Australia chief selector Bailey
Melbourne, April 1 (IANS/GURPUNEET SIDHU) Australia’s chief selector George Bailey has said that experienced all-rounder Mitchell Marsh is still part of their plans for the 2025-26 Ashes to face England’s pace-heavy bowling attack led by Jofra Archer and Mark Wood.
Marsh has battled a back injury in recent times. He was dropped after the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India following a series of low scores. He featured in a BBL match for the Perth Scorchers on January 7 before sitting out the rest of the domestic season. He recently turned up for Lucknow Super Giants in the ongoing IPL 2025 season.
“I don’t necessarily think that his red ball career is over as well. I don’t think he was scoring the runs that he would have wanted, or we would have wanted when we left him out of the Test side. But I still think there’s an incredibly exciting skill set there with the bat, the way he can rip a game open.
“If you look ahead to a team like England and the way they play their cricket and the way they seem to be framing up their team, I think he’s got a skill-set there that could be helpful,” Bailey said in the virtual press conference after the announcement of the contract list.
The 33-year-old is currently plying his trade as a batter only in the IPL. He’s shone in his first two games, smashing 72 off 36 balls and 52 off 31, playing as an Impact Substitute in both outings.
“I still think he’s got an incredibly important role to play. He’s had some injury issues, and towards the back end of the summer, he was battling with his back a little bit. It’s an ongoing conversation as to where bowling may or may not fit into his international cricket going forward. At the moment, in the IPL, he’s available only as a batter,” Bailey said.
Marsh, who is Australia’s T20I captain, is likely to lead the side during next year’s T20 World Cup.
“He’s still the captain of our T20 team and still think he can play an incredibly important role in setting that team up and hopefully leading that team to some success in the T20 World Cup. I think he’s got plenty of one-day cricket left in him as well, so I still think he’s a really valuable member of the white-ball sides,” Bailey added.
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