Mitch Marsh in revelation about family amid call on David Warner for T20 World Cup
Marsh's preparation for the World Cup has been hampered by injury.
Mitch Marsh has revealed the "silver lining" around a hamstring injury that has hampered his preparations for the T20 Cricket World Cup, which kicks off in the USA and Caribbean next month. Marsh was named captain of the 15-man Australia squad that was announced this week, with the 32-year-old's hamstring injury seeing him ruled out of a return to the Indian Premier League with his side, the Delhi Capitals.
Marsh suffered the injury four games into Delhi's IPL campaign, but while he admits it's not an ideal situation before the World Cup, it's allowed the all-rounder to return home and spend time with family before his men try to complete a clean sweep of international cricket trophies for Australia. The Aussies are already Test world champions and current holders of the ODI World Cup trophy.
It's been a whirlwind couple of years for Marsh, whose incredible career renaissance saw him claim the Allan Border Medal. The 32-year-old admits that he is still a couple of weeks away from being able to properly return from his hamstring injury but says it's allowed him to spend time at home with his loved ones and recharge the batteries ahead of the World Cup.
"The hammy is good. It's pretty much exactly where we want it to be," Marsh said. "If we had to play tomorrow I would be in a bit of trouble. But It's still a couple of weeks away, the timing is perfect. Barring any setbacks I'll be on the plane ready to go...
“It’s obviously really disappointing not to be playing with Delhi. The IPL is such a great tournament, but it has been a heavy sort of 18 months on the road. So yeah to get home for the last couple of weeks and spend time with family’s really important for me. So yeah, there’s always a silver lining.”
Marsh will miss a camp in Brisbane next week as he continues his recovery, but it's hoped he'll be right to resume bowling duties at another camp the week after. Australia's medical staff are confident he will be back to full fitness by the time the team flies out for the Caribbean on May 25 ahead of their tournament opener against Oman on June 5.
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The Aussie skipper refused to weigh in on the high-profile omissions of Steve Smith and Jake Fraser-McGurk from Australia's World Cup squad, except to say that he was happy with the 15 players picked. “Anytime there’s a World Cup team picked, there’s only 15, and some guys have to miss out, but I think we’ve got a really great squad,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of versatility, a lot of experience, and that brings a lot of excitement.”
Mitch Marsh 'excited' to have David Warner in Aussie squad
One man who Marsh is particularly excited to have in the squad is David Warner, the veteran batter who's big-game experience could prove crucial to the Aussie side. Warner has been struggling for form and an injury concern of his own in the IPL, with Fraser-McGurk shining as his replacement for the Delhi Capitals.
Fraser-McGurk's irresistible form - which has seen him hit three half centuries in his first five games - saw many fans calling for his inclusion in Australia's T20 World Cup squad at the expense of Warner. But while Marsh admits that Fraser-McGurk is in blistering form and has a "huge future" in the sport, he said the experience Warner brings is invaluable.
“We’re always really excited to have him in the team, just the experience that he brings," Marsh said about Warner. “I think if you look back at his career, there’s been so many big moments that you need to do (to have the) experience to stand up, and Dave has always been one of those. So we’re lucky to have him.”
with AAP
