Past players question Marsh rest

Australia's decision to rest Mitchell Marsh for the second Victoria Bitter ODI series against India - designed to the give the allrounder two rare days off during a jam-packed summer of cricket - has been questioned by former Australia captain Allan Border.

It was announced before the opening game of the series on Tuesday that Marsh would be replaced in Australia's squad by John Hastings for the second match at the Gabba on Friday.

Marsh is not carrying an injury and the decision came about purely to give him the luxury of a break; he had an extra day off at home in Perth on Wednesday while his teammates made the four-and-a-half hour flight to Brisbane, while he will also avoid the two-and-a-half hour flight from Brisbane to Melbourne that his teammates will make on Saturday.

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The allrounder will fly three-and-a-half hours to Melbourne today and have an extra day of rest on Friday before a light session with his teammates on Saturday and game three of the series at the MCG on Sunday.

"Mitch is a tremendous asset to Australian cricket and we are conscious of managing his workload and his travel, especially with so much cricket to come during the rest of this summer and beyond," selector Rod Marsh said in explaining the decision.

The allrounder has played all six Tests this summer and is set to be included for next month's tour of New Zealand, while he's also in the frame for the World T20 in India in March and April.

The 24-year-old has bowled a touch under 100 overs in Tests and ODIs this summer, compared to the more than 200 sent down by tireless quick Josh Hazlewood, who is set to lead the attack again in Brisbane on Friday.

Marsh has also been short of opportunities and runs with the bat, scoring 91 runs from seven completed innings during the Test summer, leading Border to claim that the allrounder's workload has not been high enough to justify a rest.

"I cannot work it out, he must be knocked up from practising," Border told Inside Cricket.

"Because he hasn’t played a lot to be rested, really.

"If I was him I’d be insisting ‘if I’m in the side I’m going to play'."

Marsh's replacement in Australia's XI for Gabba match is yet to be announced; one of Shaun Marsh and Usman Khawaja is expected to come in for opener David Warner (paternity leave), but it remains to be seen if Marsh's spot is taken by a frontline batsman or one of Hastings and South Australian quick Kane Richardson.

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Recently retired wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, who represented Australia in all three formats of the game for the bulk of his career, says he was always reluctant to take a break due to the risk of potentially placing unwanted pressure on his spot in the side when he returned.

"I wanted to play as many games for Australia as I possibly could and I never liked to give another guy an opportunity,” Haddin said,

"Because if they come in and get a hundred, you might come back into the team but it puts that pressure on you that you don’t need.

"(Marsh) hasn’t played a lot of cricket and he hasn’t had great opportunities to bat.

"And during the one-day series it’s sometimes a great opportunity to get yourself back into the rhythm of batting leading into such a big series in New Zealand."