Marsh uncertain on Test vice-captaincy

Mitch Marsh says he understands the reasons behind his omission from Australia's Test side, but admits he's none the wiser on where he stands as the team's vice-captain.

Two Tests after being appointed as one of two deputies to skipper Tim Paine, Marsh conceded he was "shattered" to be axed for the Domain series opener against India in Adelaide following a run of 11 Test innings without a half-century.

Returning to captain Western Australia in their JLT Sheffield Shield draw against Victoria at the MCG, the allrounder failed to advance his claims for a second Test recall in making 21 and 11, and claiming a single wicket from 27 overs.

Despite his disappointment at losing his Test spot, Warriors teammate Marcus Stoinis and coach Adam Voges both spoke glowingly of how Marsh has conducted himself and captained the side during a hard-fought Shield clash.

"I was obviously very disappointed to miss out in the first Test but I understood the reasons why," Marsh told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday.

"Ultimately, you've got two ways to go about it – you can either sulk and go into your shell or you can put a smile on your face and enjoy the hard work, enjoy the challenge of getting back into that Test side.

"Every Test match you miss out on - it's shattering.

"I got plenty of messages of support. I cop a fair bit but I do have a lot of people who care about me and always have support for me."

Marsh was named alongside fast bowler Josh Hazlewood in October as one of two Australian Test vice-captains ahead of the two-Test campaign against Pakistan in the UAE, but hasn't spoken to team’s hierarchy about his leadership position.

"I don't know where I stand in that sense," he said. "Lucky we've got two vice captains."

Since terrific knocks in Test victories in Perth (a 181 in the Ashes last December), in Sydney (101 also against England in January) and most recently in Durban (96 against South Africa), Marsh's batting numbers at Test level don't make for pretty reading.

In 11 knocks, he's made 110 runs at 10.

But the right-hander insists he's not out of form and his recent returns in the first-class arena do paint a different picture.

His last 12 innings against the red ball, a period that stretches back to September and includes matches against India A, Pakistan A and in the Sheffield Shield, have yielded 582 runs at 48.

And, as Marsh points out: "I'd scored three first-class hundreds in my last six games.

"I still felt like I was in really good form and feeling very confident heading into last week.

"But ultimately I still had two chances (in the Shield) before the Test match to put a big score on the board and I didn't do that.

"The message was clear – I needed more runs."

While Marsh won’t get another chance to push his case at first-class level this year as the KFC Big Bash gets underway next week, the 27-year-old says that won’t be an issue.

"JL (Justin Langer) always goes on about how runs are runs no matter what format you're in," said Marsh. "If you're in form and making runs, it doesn't matter."

With the ball, Marsh admits he'd strained too hard for wickets in Shield matches against Queensland, South Australia and NSW in a bid to prove his worth ahead of Adelaide.

"I had a case of definitely trying too hard in the lead-up to the Test match trying to take wickets instead of just bowling to a plan," he explained.

"I leaked a few more runs than I would have liked.

"I found a little bit of rhythm late in this game which is really pleasing, hopefully I can carry that forward if I get another crack."

Not that he's holding out too much hope for one, as much as his heart had been set on playing a part in the new Perth Stadium's maiden Test from Friday.

The state-of-the-art venue's curator has tipped a spicy pitch for the crucial encounter and Marsh believes bowling-friendly conditions would make a recall unlikely.

“I was certainly pumped about (playing in Perth) and I still am," said the 27-year-old.

"I'm in the squad so I'd say I'm a chance … ultimately it'll come down to conditions and how the bowlers pull up.

"The wicket had a fair bit in it last week when we played on it (in a Shield match against NSW last month). It might be a case of playing just three quicks and 'Gazza' (Nathan Lyon) - we know how good Gazza is.

"If the opportunity arises, it would be amazing, but if not I'm still going to be around the squad.

"I'll be running drinks as hard as I can for the boys and getting around them and enjoying the Perth Stadium atmosphere.

"Hopefully Western Australia can pack it out."

Domain Test Series v India

Dec 6-10: First Test, Adelaide Oval

Dec 14-18: Second Test, Perth Stadium

Dec 26-30: Third Test, MCG

Jan 3-7: Fourth Test, SCG

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c, wk), Josh Hazlewood (vc), Mitch Marsh (vc), Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Chris Tremain

India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (wk), Parthiv Patel (wk), Ravi Ashwin, Ravi Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar