The all-rounder suffered a right hamstring strain on April 3rd, the day he last bowled in an IPL 2024 match.
When a team has all the resources it needs and a wide range of bowlers who all have different talents, you would think it wouldn’t matter if there was just one more bowler. But other cricketers, like Mitchell Marsh, are so good at their game that they are great backups because they are such outstanding prowess and skill.
On the eve of Australia’s third Twenty20 World Cup match against Namibia, head coach Andrew McDonald recently voiced optimism, hoping that their current captain will return to the field as a bowler for the Men in Yellow. McDonald acknowledged that Marsh’s chances of bowling against Namibia were extremely remote, but he hinted that the odds would rise in their last group-stage match against Scotland. Moreover, McDonald said that if Australia makes it to the Super 8, both Marsh and the team management would plan how to best use his bowling skills in the closing stages of the competition.
“Very optimistic that he’ll return prepared to bowl in games. The chances of that happening against Namibia, in my opinion, are quite low. They may even get worse against Scotland. After that, I believe you should have a good shot at the Super 8s and be able to bowl there. At the pre-match press conference, McDonald said, “The assumption is that we qualify and, as I mentioned, Namibia first thing, and then we can start to work out what it looks like for the Super 8s and beyond.”
Mitchell Marsh has only bowled in 25 innings and taken 17 wickets in the 56 T20Is Australia has played since his debut in October 2011, so he has been used sparingly. Nevertheless, his impressive economy rate of 7.74 is noteworthy, especially considering that he typically bowls as the team’s sixth bowler. The 32-year-old cricketer’s confidence might be greatly boosted by bowling a couple of overs against Namibia and Scotland before the tournament’s business end, when his bowling skills could be called upon.
