MARSH ‘DOING IT MY WAY’
NEW APPROACH REVEALED
Reborn Australian all-rounder Mitch Marsh has opened up on his new attitude to Test cricket since his return to the five-day arena five years after he was mercilessly booed by the MCG crowd.
Marsh was averaging 30 in his first stint in Test cricket and striking at 54. But since his return to the Test arena, the West Australian is averaging over 60 at a strike rate of 75.
He notched another halfcentury before tea on the third day of the second Test at the MCG against Pakistan, coming in as the Aussies slumped to 4-16 in their second dig and leading by only 70 runs.
He would eventually fall agonisingly close to a fourth Test hundred, when dismissed for 96, having added 154 runs for the fifth wicket with Steve Smith.
The 32-year-old puts his success in his latest incarnation as a Test all-rounder down to an aggressive approach, sticking to his strengths and having fun along the way.
“The last four or five Tests have been really fun,” Marsh said on Fox Cricket.
“Being out for four years you sort of get back into the team and the big thing for me was doing it my way.
“I go back to when I was a young kid I was always attacking and if the ball was there to hit for four or six it usually went.
“So that’s the way I want to do it and if I fail doing it that way then I can finish knowing I gave it my all.
“And I have got the backing of Patty (Cummins) and Ronny (MacDonald) to do that.
“I’m keen to bat with Heady (Head) for a session. That could be fun, so hopefully that happens at some stage throughout the summer.
“I think just being in this team in international cricket at the moment it is hard and it is high pressure, but it has just been really fun.
“I’m playing with a smile on my face and loving it, so it has been great.”
The cheers for Marsh on day two of the second Test against Pakistan where he smashed 41 from 60 balls and took a tough catch to dismiss skipper Shan Masood were a far cry from the darkest day of his career.
Marsh is playing his first Test at the MCG in five years after he was booed when he replaced Victorian Peter Handscomb.
“It was pretty tough at the time,” Marsh admitted.
“It was a strange day in my career that one.
“But to be honest I probably wouldn’t change it for the world now with how things have progressed and where things are at now.
“We had a lot of fun with the crowd yesterday and it has been an amazing start to the summer.”
Marsh prefers to play his way and contribute with the bat and ball in what is likely his last chance to succeed in the Test arena, with Cameron Green breathing down his neck.
“It is something that I want to do is put the pressure on the spinners,” Marsh said of his batting. “There is also a new red ball around the corner, so I might as well try and get to 30 before they nick me off.”