Mitchell Marsh shines with bat and ball as Australia A remain undefeated
All-rounder takes three wickets and makes a half-century, while Will Pucovski and Peter Handscomb also make half-centuries as Australia A beat Gloucestershire
ESPNcricinfo staff
01-Jul-2019
Mitch Marsh celebrates a wicket • Getty Images
Australia A 247 for 5 (Handscomb 57, Marsh 53*, Liddle 3-59) beat Gloucestershire 246 for 8 (Bracey 83, Hankins 74, Marsh 3-43) by five wickets
A classy all-round display from Mitchell Marsh helped Australia A to a comfortable win over Gloucestershire to remain undefeated on their tour of England.
Marsh took three wickets and peeled off an unbeaten half-century as Australia A cruised to Gloucestershire's underwhelming target with 47 balls to spare.
Marsh has been working on his bowling with Western Australia and Australia A bowling coach Kade Harvey and it has been paid dividends. "At times when I try and bowl a little bit too fast, I jump in and have to bowl around myself, and I lose my control which certainly in one-day cricket it's what I'm in the team for at any level," he said. "I'm continually working on stuff. I feel like the ball is coming out of my hand really well at the moment. So hopefully that can continue."
Australia A's chase got off to another rollicking start thanks once again to Matthew Wade. Following back-to-back centuries against Northamptonshire and Derbyshire, Wade clubbed 41 from 20 balls including three fours and four sixes. Will Pucovski was promoted to open alongside Wade and the pair's 50-run stand came up inside six overs before Wade fell to Chris Liddle.
Pucovski made a composed 51 and shared a 101-run third-wicket partnership with Peter Handscomb who top scored with 57. Liddle also picked up both Handscomb and Travis Head.
Marsh entered with 92 runs still required and finished the job with ease. He hit five sixes in his unbeaten 51-ball 53 to help guide the side home.
This followed his three-wicket haul earlier in the day. Marsh took the opening wicket of the morning and then returned to make the key breakthrough picking George Hankins after a 142-run stand with James Bracey.
Hankins made 74 while Bracey top-scored with 83, but the innings fell away dramatically after Bracey's dismissal in the 39th over. Gloucestershire scored just 52 runs in the last 12 overs. Marsh also nabbed skipper Jack Taylor and ran out Tom Price on the last ball of the innings.
Josh Hazlewood bowled a impressively miserly spell taking 1 for 24 from 10 overs which included four maidens.
