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Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, who has been batting at the No.6 for his team in Test format, has no intentions of opening for his team in the cricket's longest format after David Warner retires in Sydney.
Marsh has been tight-lipped about the open position in recent weeks, following Greg Chappell's suggestion of him as Warner's potential replacement in a column for this masthead. Marsh remarked after striking a defiant 90 in his first Test innings at Perth Stadium, that he does not want to move from a role at number six because he has only recently found himself as a Test cricketer. "How do I answer this without making a headline? For me I appreciate there's talk about it and eventually, we're going to need a new opener with Davey leaving, but I've worked really hard to get back in this side and for me to look forward to having a role as an opener just doesn't make sense to me," Marsh was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald. "I love being at number six and in my last four Test matches I've really found my way and I guess who I am as a Test cricketer and I'm loving it, so I'm reluctant to change that," he added. Marsh's innings against Pakistan were laced with his customary powerful strokes, which has been his path since 2017 when he made an Ashes century at the old WACA Ground and then attempted to evolve into a longer-form player. "I think I showed glimpses of the way I played in the last 12 months throughout my career, but probably never really believed in that method. I tried to play the long innings and play like Steve Smith and Davey and Uzzy and all those guys who can bat for six hours," Marsh said. "But I just wanted to come into this Test team and be really true to myself. I'm thankful to Patty [Cummins] and Ronnie [coach Andrew McDonald] for helping me get to this point where I've found my method that works. I don't necessarily have the technique of Smudger and Marnus where they can defend and leave for hours and get through those periods," the all-rounder said. "I know when I show really good intent that I move better and can defend good balls, but ultimately I can put pressure back onto teams and the beauty of batting at six is if we bat well you get some tired bowlers to try to counterattack and keep the game moving. Hopefully, I can stay nice and consistent," he added. The disadvantage of this method is that he runs the danger of being bowled between bat and pad while attempting a straight drive at the first ball after lunch on day two. Marsh acknowledged that missing out on a hundred dollars was part of the method he had decided to play. "It's a fine line isn't it," he said. "I would've loved to get there and I actually felt like it was a pretty good ball, even though I did try to hit it out of the stadium, but I'm going to have to cop those ones on the chin at times," he added. (ANI)
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