He won't play against Sri Lanka, but Australian captain Aaron Finch is giving the injured Marcus Stoinis every chance to prove his fitness
Deadline set for Stoinis as Marsh stands by
Australia's clash with Bangladesh next week looms as the deadline for allrounder Marcus Stoinis to prove his fitness, as skipper Aaron Finch declared Mitch Marsh ready to play an immediate part in their World Cup campaign if required.
As expected, Stoinis has been ruled out of the Aussie's match against Sri Lanka at The Oval due to a side strain, meaning Australia, who will wait until Saturday morning (local time) to name an XI, will be without an allrounder for the second match in a row.
Finch must have looked with envy at England’s bevy of options who eased them to victory over West Indies on Friday.
The tournament favourites cycled through seven different bowlers, with part-timer Joe Root even chipping in with two wickets, to bowl the Windies out for just 212. Then with two key batters missing through injury, paceman Chris Woakes was promoted to No.3 and struck 40.
The Australians on the other hand, among their 14 available players, have seven specialist bowlers, six specialist batsmen (Finch labelled Glenn Maxwell a "good part-timer" rather than a genuine allrounder) and a wicketkeeper to pick from.
"Having four days between this game and the next game, I think that will be the ideal time to really test him out and assess him," Finch said of Stoinis.
"I think over the over the next five, six days, there will be a call made on that, just based on what he can and can't do. We've seen him batting and running, no problem.
"He just he hasn't tried to bowl yet. Just waiting for the injury to settle down a bit more."
Marsh trained with the Australians for the first time since arriving in the United Kingdom, but is not available for selection while Stoinis remains in the official 15-man squad.
That’s a Sherrin, but don’t be fooled, Mitch Marsh is in London with the Aussie #CWC19 squad! pic.twitter.com/zNWjUwgQ8P
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) June 14, 2019
The Western Australian, who started the summer as a national vice-captain, has not played an ODI in nearly 18 months but has been preparing for the upcoming Australia A tour of England.
Marsh’s state coach Adam Voges told cricket.com.au Marsh has used the disappointment of a difficult summer as motivation to get into peak physical shape.
Asked if he could play immediately if they elect to draft him into their squad in Stoinis' place next week, Finch said: "The short answer is yes.
"There is confidence that Mitch will come in and do well if selected, if Stoin doesn't recover properly."
In the meantime the reigning 50-over world champions, who have won three and lost one of their four games so far, will have to make do with what they've got.
Leg-spinner Adam Zampa could come back into the selection mix after Australia left him out against Pakistan, while left-arm quick Jason Behrendorff was close to playing in their last match at The Oval last Saturday against India.
Playing five specialist bowlers is also an option, though coach Justin Langer was lukewarm on the strategy when asked about it after their win over Pakistan. Usman Khawaja or Shaun Marsh would likely make way if Australia went down that route.
"It's tough when …. all-rounders who balance out your side really well and give you that extra fast-bowling option, as well as a top six batter (are missing)," said Finch.
"So it's a little bit difficult trying to decide whether you go the extra batter or the extra bowler, depending on conditions.
"But we also did plan for that, if it did happen throughout the tournament. You start planning out (before the World Cup) what happens if X, Y, Z happens."
2019 World Cup
Australia's squad: Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa
June 1: Australia beat Afghanistan by seven wickets
June 6: Australia beat West Indies by 15 runs
June 9: Australia lost to India by 36 runs
June 12: Australia beat Pakistan by 41 runs
June 15: Sri Lanka v Australia, The Oval
June 20: Australia v Bangladesh, Trent Bridge
June 25: England v Australia, Lord's
June 29: New Zealand v Australia, Lord's (D/N)
July 6: Australia v South Africa, Old Trafford (D/N)
July 9: Semi-Final 1, Old Trafford
July 11: Semi-Final 2, Edgbaston
July 14: Final, Lord's
Sync Australia's World Cup schedule to your calendar HERE
For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE