Last Updated on 1 month by Charbel Coorey
Whether Mitch Marsh will bowl is the big question ahead of the second Test against India. The all-rounder pulled up sore after bowling 17 overs at Perth, and has not bowled at training in recent days.
Australia have named their XI for the must-win match in Adelaide. There is just the one change, as confirmed by cricket.com.au. Scott Boland comes in for Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins believes he will succeed as “traditionally here there’s normally a bit of nip which obviously suits Scotty quite well.”
Australia XI for Adelaide Test: 1. Usman Khawaja, 2. Nathan McSweeney, 3. Marnus Labuschagne, 4. Steve Smith, 5. Travis Head, 6. Mitchell Marsh, 7. Alex Carey (wk), 8. Pat Cummins, 9. Mitchell Starc, 10. Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
Team balance in question with uncertainty as to whether Mitch Marsh will bowl
Marsh came into the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) with limited bowling under his belt. He bowled just four overs in the limited overs tour of the UK back in September after picking up a hamstring injury during the Indian Premier League (IPL).
After starting promisingly in Perth, Marsh fell away in the second innings. He eventually struggled to notch even 120km/h as Nitish Kumar Reddy took advantage.
According to a report in CODE Sports on Thursday, Marnus Labuschagne is looming as the fourth seam option. The news has been met with criticism by Australia fans as Labuschagne, who is also terribly out of form with the bat, struggled for control in Perth.
However, captain Cummins said he expects Marsh to contribute overs at Adelaide.
“Made the call with the medical team over the last couple of days just to give him another couple of days off bowling,” Cummins told reporters, as quoted by cricket.com.au.
“But expect him to warm up and bowl if he’s required. He’ll warm up tomorrow [Friday] pretty confident that he’s prioritised his overs for the games rather than using up some of them at training.”
It is unclear whether Marsh will be the fourth or fifth seam option in that case. If there is a lack of quality apart from the three main quicks and Nathan Lyon, the pressure will build rapidly on Cummins and co. as they look to bounce back in the series.
Beau Webster, who has been magnificent in the Sheffield Shield over the past few seasons, was brought into the squad as cover. But, the selectors have backed Marsh with the possibility of playing as a specialist batsman given he has the best average of any Australian in this World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
If that is the case, Australia will be hoping Labuschagne can keep things tight and Marsh scores enough runs to help the team level the series.
