Marsh set for surprise Shield return with an eye on the Ashes

Mitchell Marsh remains in Ashes calculations with Australia's T20I captain set to make a surprise return to Sheffield Shield cricket in early December for Western Australia with a role at the top of the order to be discussed.

Meanwhile, reserve Test wicketkeeper Josh Inglis is set to play for the Cricket Australia XI against the England Lions at Lilac Hill on Friday and is also likely to bat high in the order.

Marsh's return to Shield cricket is an intriguing development. He had claimed he would be "six beers deep" while watching the first Test from the stands in Perth and is not going to play in WA's round five day-night Shield clash with South Australia that starts on Saturday in Adelaide.

However, he is in line to play in WA's round six clash with Victoria at the MCG starting on December 4. He is also likely to play in WA's One-Day Cup clash with Victoria at Junction Oval on December 2.

Marsh, 34, has not played a first-class match since he was dropped from the Australian side after the Boxing Day Test against India in December last year. He has not played a Shield match for WA since October last year.

Marsh has long downplayed his prospects of returning to the Test squad and had even been hesitant about committing to play any more first-class cricket for his state.

But chairman of selectors George Bailey had said as far back as April that Marsh's Test career was not over, and Australia's selectors had quietly been planning for months to keep Marsh in red-ball calculations given his wonderful recent white-ball form and his outstanding record against high-pace bowling, which England are planning to unleash on Australia throughout the Ashes series.

Coach Andrew McDonald confirmed recently that the selectors "would be comfortable" picking Marsh if they needed him but he wasn't named in Australia's squad for the first Test.

There are questions on Usman's Khawaja's ability to get through the Ashes given his recent form against high pace and the fact that he will turn 39 during the Adelaide Test.

Australia's other opening position has even more questions on it. If Jake Weatherald is selected to debut in Perth, he will be Khawaja's seventh opening partner in Australia's last 16 Tests.

Marsh has never opened the batting in 210 first-class innings and has only batted at No.3 three times, once for Australia in a rain-affected Test against West Indies and twice for an Australian XI in tour matches against Worcestershire and Derbyshire on the 2019 Ashes tour.

Marsh has never batted higher than No. 4 for WA and Australia's selectors have been firm in their stance in recent years that they don't dictate to states where potential Test players should bat in Shield teams. However, it is understood there may be a discussion between the selectors and WA about where it is preferred Marsh bats given his Shield appearance is likely to be a one-off before the BBL begins, with Marsh set to be unavailable for the second half of the Shield season due to the T20 World Cup.

If he were to open, it would break-up WA's long-standing three-time Shield winning opening duo of Sam Whiteman and Cameron Bancroft, although Marsh could also bat at No. 3 with WA's middle-order having been a moving feast this season with the return of Cameron Green for three of the first four games, Cooper Connolly coming in and out due to Australia A and Australia white-ball duty and Inglis' return for the most recent Shield game.

Former Australia captain and selector Greg Chappell had advocated for Marsh to open the batting in Perth even after the Test squad was announced. Marsh has a Test average of 28.53 after 80 innings and averages just 12.57 in his nine Test innings batting at Nos. 3-5. Marsh's best performances in Test cricket have come at No. 6 where he has averaged 31.24, scored all three of his Test centuries and eight of his nine half-centuries.

Marsh won't be available as an allrounder as his bowling has remained "offline" since a back injury kept him out of the Champions Trophy in February with no update on whether he will ever return to bowl even in white-ball cricket.

The decision to hold Inglis in Perth and play him in the CA XI game rather than send him to Adelaide is so that he is available as a concussion sub, having kept in Australia's last Test in Jamaica when Alex Carey was concussed and also batted at No.4 in the first Test of the West Indies series when Steven Smith was missing with a finger injury.

He is set to bat high in the order against England Lions, however it understood that it is just to provide him with the toughest challenge and the most possible time in the middle rather than to build further opening options for later in the series. Like Marsh, Inglis has never opened in first-class cricket and averages 15.22 in nine first-class innings at Nos. 3-4. All of his first-class success, including all eight of his centuries and his lone Test century, have come batting at No.5 or lower.