Perth
Australia captain Pat Cummins has confirmed Mitchell Marsh will take over the bowling duties in the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against India, while also saying there will be no limit on how much the all-rounder can bowl at the Perth Stadium from Friday. . In the absence of Cameron Green due to lower back stress fracture surgery, Marsh’s role as an all-rounder who can deliver a few overs of seam bowling has become a big issue for Australia ahead of this crucial series.
Marsh has bowled only four overs in competitive cricket since May, when he was ruled out of the IPL 2024 campaign for Delhi Capitals due to a hamstring injury, and he also did not bowl in the Sheffield Shield matches he played for Western Australia . “Well, he is definitely available to bowl, he is an all-rounder. The way we are set up with four bowlers, we can’t really budget for an all-rounder to bowl a lot. So I think (Marsh will bowl) a few spells in each innings or something like that.”
“But he is ready to play,” Cummins said in the pre-match press conference on Thursday. He has been bowling really well this week. Her body is great, it’s the best it’s been in a while. We never imposed an upper limit on anyone. He is ready to play and ready to bowl as much as he needs.” He also revealed how top-order batsman Marnus Labuschagne, who has abandoned leg-spin for seam bowling, is keen to bowl in the Perth Test after bowling 33.2 overs in his Sheffield Shield matches.
“He always tries to impress with the ball, which is fantastic. He likes bowling. He has bowled some useful overs for Queensland. Obviously, he has leg spin, he has bowled a bit of off spin in the past, and then this year he has bowled pace. So, I am sure he will catch the ball at some stage or the other. He is also bowling a lot of bouncers. So maybe we’ll look into that at some point.”
Although Australia defeated India in the World Test Championship final in London last year, Australia has not won a Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India for almost a decade. Only Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon and Steve Smith remain from the Australian team that won 2-0 against India at home in 2014/15.
Cummins admitted that winning the upcoming series is the aim of his players. “I think about half the changeroom, we haven’t won. “This is the last thing we want for many of us.” “In the last few years, we have faced almost every challenge that has come our way and performed well. Doing this for another year, another home summer, will only strengthen it. It’s not just a matter of two or three seasons, it’s suddenly a matter of half a generation.”
“It’s been basically the same team for the last two or three years. The week before the match is very normal. Everything is very simple. Everyone knows how to prepare. “One of the strengths of our team is not just consistency, but how well everyone plays and how much we love playing together.” He concluded, “We are all excited, we know India is one of the best teams. “They don’t have some players that we are very familiar with, but we know whoever they pick will definitely be considered good enough for Test cricket.”