Adelaide. Even if Mitchell Marsh is fit to make a place in Australia's playing XI, there is still doubt whether he will bowl in the Adelaide Test or not. Australia has not yet lost a single match in the daynight test in Adelaide and they will have to win this match to level the series.
Marsh, who was injured after bowling 17 overs in the first Test played in Perth, was seen batting in the nets on Tuesday after spending some time with his family. He did not bowl in training but it was a rest day for the fast bowlers as Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins also remained away from the action.
A key training session in Australia will be held on Wednesday evening, where there will be a clear indication of whether Marsh will be a bowling option this week. Uncapped Tasmania allrounder Beau Webster has been added to the squad as cover for Marsh.
There will still be an option that Marsh can enter the second Test as a specialist batsman. Cummins and Andrew McDonald have been saying that Marsh deserves a place in the team because he is one of the top six Test batsmen in the country.
He scored a century on his return against England in the Headingley Test last year and has since become Australia's leading runscorer with 657 runs at an average of 41.06. In this period, only retired David Warner and injured Cameron Green have a higher average than him.
However, if Marsh plays and does not bowl, Australia will have to go back to their old combination. There are only three Tests against India from the 202021 season where neither Green nor Marsh made any contribution with the ball. In his 43 Test career, Marsh did not bowl any over in the 2017 Test against India played in Pune. After this, he was used less last season as Green made a comeback in the series against West Indies and New Zealand.
By the end of 2020, a combination of four fast bowlers and a few overs bowlers was common but since Cummins became captain, they have had additional options. Cummins said after the Perth Test, “Ideally he (Marsh) will be able to bowl in every Test match.”
Even the slow medium pace bowling of Marnus Labuschagne and the offspin of Travis Head were part of the game. So, without the option of a key fourth bowler, it could prove to be a gamble in the next two Tests to be held in Adelaide and Brisbane in Australia. There are indications that fast bowling may require additional resources. Sean Abbott and Brendan Doggett have been called up to replace the injured Josh Hazlewood.
Alex Carey said on Marsh, “I think he will be fine. Since he returned to the team, his batting has been excellent for us and he has also taken some important wickets in the bowling. Hopefully he is fine and will be able to play.” Are ready to.”
The top order of the Australian team did not play in both the innings in Perth. Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith and Labuschagne together scored 44 runs. But on the fourth day, Marsh, Carey and Head showed what they can do when the ball is old.
Carey said, “I think mine, Trav, Mitch play a different game to the top four. Even if the top four bat all day, we go with an intention. That's the middleorder style, but with opportunities. One has to bear the pressure here too.”
On the big gap between the first two Tests, Carey feels it will benefit Australia as they have got some time to reflect after the defeat and also time to process the defeat at home and Carey talked about the result .
He said, “From the outside, there was a big reaction to a Test defeat but internally we don't feel that way. We didn't play the way we should have played, but we know there are four, five Test matches and if If we play our style of cricket, we will be successful. We are calm inside and are eager to make a comeback and just play better style of cricket.”
Apart from this, Labuschagne spent more time in the Australian session as he is searching for form, while Labuschagne injured his finger while giving a throwdown to Smith and the team doctor came to the field but after some time he started batting again.
Rain is expected on the first day of the Adelaide Test, but the remaining days should be full day's play.
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Image Credit: KhasKhabar.