Quantcast

Test dream not over for determined Marsh

Axed from Australia's squad for their Bangladesh tour, the left-hander says he still harbours hope of a Test return

Shaun Marsh insists he hasn't given up on fighting his way back into the Australian side, and is hoping to lay the foundations for his return with English county Yorkshire.

The 33-year-old (his birthday is Sunday week) was dropped for Australia's Test squad for a two-match tour of Banglandesh starting late August after playing all four Border-Gavaskar Tests.

Quick Single: Australia confirm pre-Test tour camp

Marsh had earned the nod in the starting XI in India as a noted subcontinent specialist, having come into the side for the third Test in Sri Lanka in 2016 and immediately scored a century. 

He scored two fifties in the four Tests against India, including a gutsy second-innings 53 when, along with Pete Handscomb, the pair batted for more than four hours to force a draw in the third Test and force a decider in Dharamsala. 

Quick wrap: Handscomb, Marsh lead great escape

That Test proved an unhappy one for Marsh as, suffering from a jarred back, was unable to contribute with the bat, scoring 4 and 1 as Australia crumbled to defeat to surrender the series 2-1.

The omission from the Bangladesh touring squad is the latest dip in a roller-coaster international career that has seen Marsh in and out of the Australian side since his debut in 2011, with injury as much a cause as failure to nail down opportunities. 

His Ranchi match-saving knock earned him high praise from Australia vice-captain David Warner, who said Marsh was "a special player for us".

Quick Single: Smith switches up off-season training

"From where I stand as a player and a vice-captain we always know he's got the talent," Warner said in the wake of the Ranchi Test.

"The way he's come back and fought hard and scored the hundred in Sri Lanka and come out and played the way he has is credit to him. 

"He's one of our toughest players in this team and nothing is ever going to knock SOS down."

August: Marsh marks Test return with a century

Now about to start an extended stint with county side Yorkshire, Marsh knows he needs runs, and lots of them, to force his way back into the selectors' thinking.

"I certainly haven't given up the dream of playing for Australia again," he told the Yorkshire website.

"But I probably know at my age I have to score a mountain of runs to get back in.

"It's a long way off at the moment, but if I put runs on the board…it all starts here. 

"Then, if I have a strong start to the season with Western Australia back home, you never know.

"But it's not something I'm thinking about at the moment.

"I want to perform well for Yorkshire in the T20s first and foremost, then red ball cricket and go home with a few runs under my belt."