Tigers up for test in west
TIGERS Beau Webster and Jordan Silk are raring to go in Tasmania’s bid for back-toback Sheffield Shield victories against Western Australia at the WACA starting tomorrow. The Tigers are second on the shield table after mauling Queensland in their opening match at the Gabba. The winless Warriors have Test batsman Shaun Marsh back to fight for his spot in Australia’s four-match home Test series against India next month.
RUNS hold the key to Shaun Marsh salvaging his Test career, and he plans to achieve that goal by having some fun.
Marsh’s Test spot for the home series against India is in grave doubt after he looked all at sea against Pakistan in the UAE. The 35-year-old produced scores of seven, 0, three and four as Australia slumped to a 1-0 series defeat earlier this month.
Since scoring 156 against England at the SCG in January, Marsh has averaged just 13.42 across 12 innings in the Test arena.
The calls are growing louder for Marsh to be dumped ahead of the four-Test series against India, starting in December.
But the classy left-hander has a strong ally in the form of new Australian coach Justin Langer, who is backing Marsh to turn his fortunes around.
Marsh will line up for the Warriors in their Sheffield Shield clash with Tasmania at the WACA Ground, starting tomorrow. The left-hander knows the match is crucial to his bid to stay in the Test side.
“Obviously there’s a bit of noise out there,” Marsh said of the heavy criticism levelled at him. “I’ve tried to stay away from it and not read too much. For me it’s just about scoring runs. I haven’t done that in the last couple of weeks, which has been disappointing.
“I’m just looking forward to getting back out there and having a bit of fun out there, and hopefully getting us a win.”
Marsh trained strongly with his WA teammates yesterday, and was one of the last players to leave the session.
WA coach Adam Voges is confident Marsh’s return to state duties will help the talented batsman regain his mojo.
“We’ll just try and get him as relaxed as possible, and get him in an environment where he can enjoy his cricket,” Voges said. “And get him in a frame of mind where he can go out and play his best cricket.
“We all know how good a player he is. He’ll be disappointed more than anyone else with what happened against Pakistan.
“It’s just about making it fun for him again, and him going out and enjoying playing with his WA teammates.”
Even if Marsh fails to fire in this week’s Sheffield Shield match, he is set to be given another chance to shine during the three-match ODI series against South Africa, starting in Perth on November 4.