Boof names Marsh as Watson heir

Australia coach Darren Lehmann hopes Mitchell Marsh can step into the big shoes of retired veteran allrounder Shane Watson.

Watson bowed out of international cricket on Sunday following Australia's group-stage exit in the World T20 at the hands of a Virat Kohli-inspired India in Mohali.

Marsh, who missed the six-wicket loss to the tournament hosts, has already taken Watson's spot in Test and one-day cricket, and now Lehmann hopes the 24-year-old can achieve the feat in all three formats.

"Mitch has really grown as a player at international level for us," Lehmann said.

"He's certainly batting a lot better in one-day cricket for us and it was a tough call to leave him out and bring (opener Aaron) Finch back, that's the balance we wanted to go with.

"You'd hope he steps up into his (Watson's) shoes.

"He's got the talent to do that, it's up to him to perform now."

It was a breakthrough summer for Marsh, who battled to nail down his Test spot in the middle order with the bat, but excelled with the ball and in Australia's limited-overs campaigns home and abroad.

A maiden international century against India in the final Carlton Mid ODI series match at the SCG in January was a breakthrough knock for the Western Australian, and he carried that form across the Tasman to produce his best innings for Australia to date – a match-winning 69no to guide the tourists home in a tense one-day encounter in Wellington.

The hot streak continued in South Africa in the three-match T20 series prior to the World T20, where Marsh hit the winnings runs twice from the only two balls he faced on tour.

Where Watson struggled to remain injury-free for any lengthy stretch of time throughout his 14-year career in the green and gold, Marsh says he's happy to miss games here and there if it means staying on the park in the long run.

"I think purely with the amount of cricket we play now, at some stage you’ve got to have a rest and it’s just about understanding that that’s the best part for the team, for yourself, moving forward," Marsh said on the eve of the World T20.

"So if I’m going to miss one or two games here and there hopefully it’s by resting and not by injury or being dropped.

"The medical staff always have our best interests at heart and we always trust them.

"If I rest at some stage then so be it but for now I’ll keep going and hopefully I keep performing."

Marsh isn't the only one destined for a long international career in all formats after leg-spinner Adam Zampa proved his worth with an impressive tournament in India.

In four matches, Zampa claimed five wickets and was frugal, conceding only 6.27 runs per over.

Often bowling to set batsman, Zampa showed he has the mettle to compete at the highest level after he was a contentious selection in the 15-man squad.

"That's an important thing – pressure does strange things to people, full stop," Lehmann said.

"He's handling himself really well, been very impressed with him.

"He's calm, played better the higher he's gone, so that's a pleasing thing for us.

"I know it was a big (selection) issue, (Cameron) Boyce or Zampa, but we got that one right.

"Nothing against Cameron, because he was very good for us in Sydney before we left.

"They're the tough calls you've got to make sometimes but that's a plus for us this tournament."

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Now Zampa is hoping to emulate the likes of David Warner and Nathan Lyon and use the short forms to propel himself into the Test XI and an elusive Baggy Green.

"He (Zampa) is in our one-day team as well, that's a start," Lehmann said.

"His four-day record (53 wickets at 50.77) has got to improve, he's the first to admit that.

"But the pleasing thing is when he's steps up he's played well for us."