Australia’s seam-bowling all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has expressed his willingness to roll his arms in the upcoming Sheffield Shield round, hoping to help cover Cameron Green’s absence during the Test series against India for the Border-Gavaskar trophy, starting November 22 in Perth.
Marsh’s decision to bowl could lessen Australia’s woes, that were compounded when Green was ruled out of the all-important series due to a stress fracture of his back. However, there is still an uncertainty whether Marsh, who turns 33 on Sunday, can physically handle the rigours of bowling. Since tearing his hamstring during the IPL, Marsh has bowled just four overs – all of which were in the fourth ODI against England at Lord’s last month.
Ahead of the Shield fixture against Tasmania, starting on Sunday at the WACA in Perth, Marsh, who represents the Western Australia side, said he felt “really good” physically as he builds up his bowling loads in preparation for the Test series against India.
“I won’t bowl too much for WA, it’s all part of the building process to get ready for that first Test. It’s been a slow build. I’ve been really well looked after by Cricket Australia, Ronnie (Australia coach Andrew McDonald) and Patty (Pat Cummins), with our planning and when I bowl,” Marsh told reporters in Perth at the launch of the 2025-26 Ashes fixtures.
“I love bowling, so I’m looking forward to bowling for Western Australia this week and build from there,” he added.
With Steve Smith moving down to his traditional No.4 position for the India series, Australia are also in the hunt for an opening partner for Usman Khawaja. While there were talks about Mitchell donning the role, following in the footsteps of his father Geoff and brother Shaun, he has dispelled the notion and expressed his interest in contributing as an all-rounder.
“Once you’re in the field of battle, you bowl as many overs as the captain needs you to bowl. I see the allrounder role as being really important, especially for when our bowlers need a bit of a break. I think if you look back at the last few seasons, our allrounders have bowled maybe 10 to 13 overs a game, which is not really a lot,” he said.
“But those 10 to 13 overs can be really important. So for me, it’s about preparing to bowl as much as I can, as much as Patty needs me to,” he added.
Marsh also stated that he was shattered after Green was ruled out of the all-important series.
“From all reports he’s pretty good, initially there is always a shock. It all happened pretty quickly. Certainly with stress fractures they can be quite a gradual thing, but this one came pretty quickly. Someone like Cam with his attitude towards the game, he loves it. The thought of missing that much cricket is probably a little daunting for him, but he’s accepted it now and as an athlete you go through these things,” he said.
“It’s an opportunity for him to come back better and I have no doubt that he will,” he added.