Mitch flicks switch to keep his mind fresh

While the technical tinkering Mitchell Marsh has done to his batting can be measured in the priceless minutes he’s spent at the crease during the past two Test matches, the all-rounder has revealed some equally important mental rituals he’s adopted to revolutionise his game.

As Australia prepares to celebrate the return of the urn in the final Magellan Ashes Test that starts at the SCG on Thursday, Marsh reflected on his game-saving knock of 29 from 166 balls last weekend that was as invaluable as it was unprecedented.

But the 26-year-old, who had announced his return to Test cricket as a re-invented player when he blazed a maiden century a fortnight earlier at the WACA Ground, claimed today that the changes he’s made to the way he bats explains only part of his transformation.

The work he’s undertaken with his Perth-based batting mentor Scott Meuleman has enabled him to tighten his defensive set-up, push more softly at the ball when he’s protecting his wicket, and wait for deliveries that are well within his ‘hitting zone’ before looking to force the pace.

But during his nine-month recovery from a shoulder reconstruction during which he focused on his batting technique, Marsh also studied the habits of the world’s foremost batters and noted there was another gap in his game.

In his previous incarnations as a Test player, Marsh’s sense of vulnerability and the anxiety of forever playing for his place meant that when he was out in the middle, his mind was endlessly consumed by his need to succeed regardless of the scenarios in which he found himself.

Unlike his consummate contemporaries who have mastered the art of ‘switching off’ between those crucial seconds when a bowler begins his run-up to deliver the ball and when he gets to the top of his mark to repeat the process, Marsh’s mind was always idling.

So he looked at what the world’s best do in between balls, during the in-built breaks in the game that constituted far more of the 322 minutes he endured at the WACA and the 201 he negotiated at the MCG last Saturday than the moments in which he was actively involved, and came up with his own routine.

Where David Warner will unfasten his batting gloves at every opportunity, Steve Smith will scratch and fidget and walk and twitch, and England captain Joe Root will engage in his idiosyncratic movements, Marsh now takes a few steps away from the crease towards square leg.

While doing so, he’ll undo the Velcro straps on his gloves until he’s almost back in position to face the bowling at which point he’ll re-fasten them and settle into his batting stance.

It’s a process that looks utterly innocuous until it’s realised that it’s what sports psychologists preach to their clients – the need to clear their mind when concentration isn’t required in order to relax and refresh before adopting some sort of small physical cue to signal it’s time to re-enter the contest.

In the case of former Australia opener Matthew Hayden, his nation’s fifth-highest Test runs scorer, it was something as straightforward as scratching his guard back into the pitch after every ball he faced to tell himself the moment had come to go back to work.

As an all-rounder, Marsh also needs to find ways of relaxing his mind when he’s not awaiting a catch in the slips cordon or taking the ball for a spell of his seam bowling, and he achieves that now by studying rival batters and the methods they employ to switch on and off during an innings.

Despite his affable demeanor, Marsh admits that he’s always found Test cricket a nerve-wracking affair and even though he has countered that to some extent with his new batting rituals the anxiety returned as he went to the wicket with Australia in strife at 4-178 and a mere 15 runs in front last Saturday.

With the ball showing signs of reverse swing, and the world’s most successful Test new-ball pairing James Anderson and Stuart Broad sensing the prospect of an England victory.

“I did embrace it,” Marsh said today when asked if he was daunted or excited by that challenge which he ultimately met and mastered.

“There’s always nerves, I was very nervous.

“I felt like I was going to get out any ball in the first 20 balls, which can happen on those sorts of wickets when it’s reversing.

“And then I felt really confident in my game plan once I got in that I’d be able to do the job.

“I said it a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been a lot more relaxed in this preparation, coming back into the Test team.

“So I knew the sort of game plan I was going to have to go out there with and for me it was about sticking to that for three hours or as long as I needed to do to make sure we got the draw.”

The 26-year-old, who has lost his place in the Test line-up three times in 23 matches due to form and injury since making his debut in 2014, admits that much of the anxiety he’s felt during his previous tenures has been self-imposed.

Not only has he produced his two longest Test innings since being recalled for the third Ashes Test in Perth, he has taken huge pride and confidence from his stonewalling innings at the MCG which was unlike anything he’s previously played in Australia colours.

“I’ve always been excited about playing Test match cricket, but stress levels rise when you're not performing,” he said today.

“Maybe it's an age thing, but I felt like I was in really good form when I came into the team this summer and I’m really enjoying it at the moment.

“Probably the thing I was most happy about (after the draw in Melbourne) was that 12 months ago, from the mental side of my game, I don’t think I would have got through that.

“Whilst I know that it was the flattest wicket in cricket history, to be able to apply myself for that long and not really worry about scoring was something that I’ve gained a lot of confidence from.

“I’ve worked extremely hard over the last nine months to make sure i have a game that can adapt to all conditions.

“I realise I’ve only done that now in two Test innings and have a long way to go, but I’ve certainly gained a lot of confidence from the last few weeks.”

2017-18 International Fixtures

Magellan Ashes Series

Australia Test squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird.

England Test squad: Joe Root (c), James Anderson (vc), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Mason Crane, Tom Curran, Ben Foakes, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Chris Woakes.

First Test Australia won by 10 wickets. Scorecard

Second Test Australia won by 120 runs (Day-Night). Scorecard

Third Test Australia won by an innings and 41 runs. Scorecard

Fourth Test Match drawn. Tickets

Fifth Test SCG, January 4-8 (Pink Test). Scorecard

Gillette ODI Series v England

First ODI MCG, January 14. Tickets

Second ODI Gabba, January 19. Tickets

Third ODI SCG, January 21. Tickets

Fourth ODI Adelaide Oval, January 26. Tickets

Fifth ODI Perth Stadium, January 28. Tickets

Prime Minister's XI

PM's XI v England Manuka Oval, February 2. Tickets

Gillette T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series

First T20I Australia v NZ, SCG, February 3. Tickets

Second T20I – Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7. Tickets

Third T20I – Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Tickets

Fourth T20I – NZ v England, Wellington, February 14

Fifth T20I – NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I – NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final – TBC, Eden Park, February 21