Mitchell Marsh

Mitchell Marsh player profile

Mitchell Marsh, one of the most well-known surnames in Australian cricket, had been an alluring prospect for many years but struggled to cement a place across formats. However, that has changed in recent years, starting in T20 and then taking in ODIs and, for a golden year at least, Test cricket.

The first of the breakthroughs came when he was elevated to No. 3 in the T20I side and went on to play a vital role in winning the 2021 World Cup. Then he became a more settled, and increasingly dominating prospect, in the one-day team which brought more glory at the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.

Earlier that same year during the Ashes in England he had made a remarkable return to the Test side at Headingley with a powerful opening-day century at Headingley. A productive home summer followed and in early 2024 he was named the Allan Border Medalist, while a few months later was named T20I captain although he had lost his Test place by the end of the following season.

An immensely powerful batter, he is particularly strong against the short ball. As a bowler, he was brisk in his younger days but his body has not always allowed him to operate at full capacity.

Marsh was earmarked for high honours, alongside his brother Shaun, ever since he captained Australia Under-19s to victory in the 2010 World Cup in New Zealand. He played state cricket at just 17, and made his T20I debut at 19 in 2011. He was also a promising junior Australian Rules footballer, and hails from a prolific sporting family - his father is Geoff Marsh, the Australia opener, and later coach and selector; his sister, Melissa, was a professional basketballer.

In 2018, Marsh was appointed Australia Test vice-captain in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal, but he was then dropped from all formats and lost his national contract due to a string of failures, at Test level in particular. In 2020 he returned to the T20I fold and the following year and produced a stunning 77 not out off 50 balls in the T20 World Cup final.

Marsh made it to the Test side over Shane Watson on the 2015 Ashes tour and was given time to settle into the No. 6 role, although his bowling was arguably the stronger feature of his game at the time. That had not been the case in his debut Test series, against Pakistan in the UAE the previous year, when he scored 87 and 47 in his second Test. He never quite settled until a big century at the WACA in the third Test of the 2017-18 Ashes. He followed that with another, in Sydney - brought up amid emotional scenes with his brother at the crease - and then made a pivotal match-winning 96 in a Test win in Durban before Australian cricket plunged into crisis.

It was the start of a period of decline for Marsh too. He only played one Test during the 2018-19 home summer, failing twice with the bat against India at the MCG. He returned as part of the Ashes squad in 2019, at The Oval, where he took his maiden five-wicket haul. Later that year, he broke his hand thumping the dressing-room wall at the WACA following a dismissal in the Sheffield Shield, disrupting his career again before the revival began.

Mitchell Marsh IPL factfile

- For all his big-hitting prowess, Mitchell Marsh has had an underwhelming IPL career so far. Injuries haven't helped. Marsh has been involved in the IPL since 2010 but is yet to have a season where he has played all the games for his franchise.

- Marsh has turned out for five franchises in the IPL - Deccan Chargers, Pune Warriors, Rising Pune Supergiant, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Delhi Capitals (DC).

- Marsh was first picked in 2010 by Chargers as a 19-year-old. He managed just 28 runs in three games and picked up two wickets. Warriors then splurged US$290,000 for Marsh in the 2011 auction. He played two seasons for Warriors in 2011 and 2013 (he missed the 2012 season because of a back injury).

- Between 2014 and 2021, Marsh was part of the IPL in just two seasons. He played three games for Supergiant in 2016, and then a solitary match for SRH in 2020 before getting injured.

- Marsh has been more regular since being picked in the IPL 2022 mega auction for a hefty sum of INR 6.5 crore (US$866,000) by DC. He had his best season with the bat in 2022 when he scored 251 runs in eight matches with a top score of 89.

- Marsh had an underwhelming IPL 2023 with the bat but picked up 12 wickets at 14.16 - the most for a DC bowler that season. He returned home mid-way through the 2024 season to recover from an injury.