Marsh a beacon as dark days return

SHAUN Marsh continues to renovate his reputation as a middle-order rock, but Australia’s batting line-up was yesterday given a sobering wake-up call before its crunch tour of South Africa.

Australia has worked hard to avoid batting collapses this summer, and has made improvements, but losing 7-67 on day two was a flashback to the bad old days.

With a competitive score of 300-plus on the board, it was hardly the end of the world, but Australia squandered a golden opportunity to post 450 and bring an Ashes whitewash within reach.

Three players — Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh and Tim Paine — all chopped on to their stumps in disappointing fashion before the final five wickets fell for 15 runs.

In the rare form Smith is in at the moment, he is entitled to a mistake. It was almost a relief to find out he was human. But overall the meek surrender from the Australian middle and lower order indicated a loss in focus and patience.

One of the keys to Australia’s comfortable Ashes win this summer has been a fight- ing attitude from a determined batting order that has scarcely lost wickets in clumps.

Smith demanded an end to the chronic capitulations that have plagued the team for so many years, and his batsmen have largely answered the call.

But yesterday was a reminder of what can happen when that intensity falters, and Australia will need to be ruthless if it is to topple a world- class bowling attack in South Africa come March.

Barometer batsman Shaun Marsh, until recently seen as so flaky, is suddenly the balance in the Australian order.

Marsh ground out another half-century yesterday in slow conditions to further cap off a series defined by consistency and class under pressure.

The 34-year-old will be crucial in South Africa.