Mitch Marsh's bombshell move amid furore surrounding David Warner

Sports Reporter

Mon, 10 Oct 2022, 11:20 pm·3-min read

Australian allrounder Mitchell Marsh (pictured left) embraces teammate David Warner (pictured right). — Australian allrounder Mitchell Marsh (pictured left) has ruled himself out of the one-day captaincy position, but has praised David Warner (pictured right) as one of the leaders in the group. (Getty Images)

Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has ruled himself out of the one-day captaincy position as the search continues for a replacement after Aaron Finch's retirement.

Finch will consider his T20 future after the upcoming World Cup but should Cricket Australia decide they want one captain across both codes, he may have to hand over the role.

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This comes after Finch announced he would step down as the Aussie ODI captain last month after a poor run of form.

Marsh was considered a leading candidate for the role, however the big hitter said he would rather focus on his own fitness and role in the team.

"Probably not to be honest, I'm out of the race," he said.

"I've had to get the body right for this World Cup.

"The World Cup is such an exciting prospect for all of us, to worry about that sort of stuff (captaincy) is just not on my radar at the moment.

"Cricket Australia has a decision to make after the World Cup ... it's really not something I've thought about."

Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith and David Warner, pictured here during the first T20 between Australia and England. — Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith and David Warner look on during the first T20 between Australia and England. (Photo by Paul Kane - CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)

David Warner moves in line as candidate

This leaves David Warner as a potential candidate, however this scenario poses problems for Cricket Australia due to the leadership ban imposed on the opener.

The veteran would need CA to overturn the ban stemming from in the 2018 ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

Marsh did give Warner some praise as a leader, but stopped short of a firm endorsement.

"He's a great leader among our group," Marsh said.

"As far as all the decisions go, I certainly steer clear of all those conversations. But he's a great man to have in the squad."

Mitchell Marsh (pictured) looks on during a T20 game. — Mitchell Marsh (pictured) is set to take part for Australia in the T20 World Cup. (Photo by Paul Kane - CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)

Marsh crunched out 36 runs in his now-usual No.3 role in the T20 series opener against England in Western Australia on Sunday.

The teams will go head-to-head again on Wednesday at Canberra's Manuka Oval.

Allrounder Marsh did not bowl in Perth, but said it remained the plan for the World Cup.

"The body's feeling good at this stage," he said.

"Hopefully I'll be right to bowl in the first warm-up game but with Stoin (Marcus Stoinis) back bowling now, it's a bit of a luxury we can work as a team and really build towards the World Cup.

"We're going to get four overs out of us; some days it's me, some days Stoin, and some days Maxy (Glenn Maxwell).

"The best T20 teams in the world over the last five, six years, have that flexibility ... we're almost a team within a team."

with AAP

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