Marsh rules out South Africa Test return but 'door is open'

Mitch Marsh is not staying on for Australia's Test series against South Africa despite the door remaining ajar for a comeback, while he flagged that his ODI captaincy job-share arrangement with Pat Cummins will continue.

Marsh signed off from the 50-over tours he led in Zimbabwe and South Africa with a fourth half-century in six games in a rain-affected victory over the Proteas in Potchefstroom on Wednesday.

Test and ODI captain Cummins, who sent down five pacey overs in the consolation victory while delegating leadership duties to Marsh, was quoted by Nine newspapers this week suggesting his close friend remained in the frame for a red-ball return.

Marsh no longer plays first-class cricket – and also no longer bowls – but both he and selectors appear open to him adding to his 46 Tests, the last coming during the 2024-25 home summer.

Australia may need to find a replacement, temporarily or otherwise, for Josh Inglis who is the 16-player squad's back-up wicketkeeper and a reserve batter.

Marsh is understood to have been in serious consideration for the South Africa Tests, but he confirmed he was flying home to Perth on Thursday. Given Australia's busy run of Tests that sees them play 20 times in 12 months, the 34-year-old could remain in the mix to play New Zealand, India or England.

"Pat said the door's open – and it's open," Marsh told reporters after South Africa won the ODI series 2-1. "I don't think I'll ever be good enough to retire from Test cricket."

Marsh's clinical ball-striking opening the batting in the Africa ODIs underscored he remains a fearsome batter, particularly against high-pace.

His biggest challenge in a Test return would likely be tempo and stamina; the longest he has batted in his last 62 innings over the last 12 months, many of them in T20 leagues abroad, is the 63 balls he faced in the second ODI against Zimbabwe earlier this month.

On where his red-ball game is at, the Western Australian admitted: "It's a great question. I don't really know. I would imagine it would be similar to my white-ball game if I was to get another crack at it."

The unorthodox arrangement that saw Marsh remain skipper even as Cummins returned for his first ODI in two years meanwhile looks set to continue.

The fast bowler essentially used the Potchefstroom one-dayer to replicate the intensity of the coming Test series. A similar situation could unfold for the three home ODIs against England in November, the last coming a fortnight before the Test series opener against NZ.

"I see it as a bit of an open book, really," said Marsh. "Pat is the ODI skipper, and his schedule is hectic as we all know. So today was a case of me finishing the series. Pat hasn't played one-day cricket for a while, and he's got a big couple of weeks coming up.

"So we share the role, and as I've stated many times now, we've got a great relationship. We work so well together – and it didn't look like he hadn't played an ODI game for (almost) 700 days. It was certainly nice to have him back."

Qantas tour of South Africa 2026

All matches to be broadcast exclusively in Australia on Kayo and Fox Cricket

First ODI: South Africa beat Australia by 67 runs

Second ODI: South Africa beat Australia by 32 runs

Third ODI: Australia beat South Africa by 45 runs (DLS)

South Africa ODI squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Bjorn Fortuin, Duan Jansen, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Nqobani Mokoena, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs

Australia ODI squad: Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Marsh, Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Joel Davies, Jack Edwards, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Oliver Peake, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

Warm-up match: October 3-4, JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom, 6pm AEST (10am local)

First Test: October 9-13, Kingsmead Stadium, Durban, 6:30pm AEDT (9:30am local)

Second Test: October 18-22, St George's Park, Gqeberha, 7pm AEDT (10am local)

Third Test: October 27-31, Newlands, Cape Town, 7:30pm AEDT (10:30am local)

South Africa's preliminary first Test squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster