Marsh laughing all way to medal
Mitch Marsh shook his head and tutted when, in the aftermath of his stunning Allan Border Medal win, he realised he said on stage in front of the nation that he “gets a bit fat sometimes” as he thanked captain Pat Cummins for his unwavering belief.
“That’ll be the headline,” he said, half-joking, a little bit concerned.
It was one line among a brilliant acceptance speech, part humour, part humility, with plenty of appreciation for those around him after his resurgence from whipping boy to national hero was complete.
While he cringed a little at what he said, Marsh also revealed that being able to be that way – in public, in the change rooms and then on stage, with the full support of his captain, teammates and national selectors – had been as important as his blistering work with the bat in becoming one of the most dominant batters on the planet.
The 32-year-old’s career had been a case of trial and error as he continued to be on the selection turnstile, particularly when it came to Test cricket, trying at times to be a person he wasn’t to become the cricketer everyone wanted him to be.
But under Cummins, and coach Andrew McDonald, who he said “changed my life”, and via advice from his wife of eight months, Greta, Marsh is doing it his way, and the results are coming thick and fast.
“I think I probably found that right balance over the last couple of years,” he said. “I always felt like a bit of an older brother to Pat and we’ve started playing together and now he’s someone that I look up to as my captain and a leader and a great friend.”