Mitch can thank wary selectors
“It’s obviously very nice … for the coach to come out and say that,” Mitchell Marsh said yesterday.
“There’s obviously been a little bit of pressure on me to score runs. I’ve tried not to take too much notice of it because, as a team, three out of the four Tests we’ve made over 500 in the first innings, so I haven’t felt under too much pressure in that sense.”
However, that’s definitely not the experience of his brother or Joe Burns.
Selectors are haunted by the error of not picking an allthat rounder for the ill-fated Trent Bridge Test, even though the Ashes was sealed in that match by a woeful batting performance of 60 not out that had more to do with aptitude than personnel.
Nonetheless, Lehmann and Rod Marsh swore they wouldn’t make the same mistake again, and the horror of watching Mitchell Starc break down mid-Test in Adelaide has only heightened their paranoia about the risks of going into a match with no bowling backup for the three frontline seamers.
There
is obvious logic in AFTER putting in long days in the nets trying to coax better performances from his West Indies side, coach Phil Simmons is taking pleasure and pain from watching the Big Bash League on television.
Seeing some of the Caribbean’s biggest names go around in Australia’s domestic Twenty20 competition instead of the Test side is a hard thing to watch.
“I’m totally frustrated,” Simmons said yesterday.
“It’s enjoyable to see Andre Russell bowling at 140 clicks, and Dwayne Bravo hitting three or four sixes, and Chris Gayle back in it.
“It is frustrating that we don’t have them here playing the Test series.
“But it’s something that’s been going on for a while and it’s up to the administration to work out how we get to the stage of let’s say New Zealand because they have similar things and they’re getting all their players to play.
“It’s up to our administration and our bosses to find out how is the best way that we can get these guys on the pitch.”
Chairman of selectors and Test great Clive Lloyd was on hand at training yesterday and is playing a mentoring role, Simmons said. theory and Marsh’s bowling has been consistently outstanding, but the fact is that in overseas conditions, Australia’s inherent weakness has been their batting.
Two matches out from the tour of New Zealand, where the ball is expected to nip around, the Test side is carrying a passenger at No.6 in the order.
“As a batsman you get paid to score runs and if you’re not doing that there’s going to be some pressure,” said Mitchell Marsh. “That just comes with the territory of being an Australian cricketer.”