McDonald Dismisses Fitness Worries for Marsh; Limited Overs Tied to Match Strategy

Melbourne, Dec 31 (NationPress) Australia head coach Andrew McDonald dismissed any concerns about the fitness of all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, even with his restricted overs during the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India. McDonald attributed Marsh's limited bowling opportunities to the match scenario rather than any fitness issues.

"No, there’s no concern. I think people have been reading too much into that. We haven’t required him with the ball as often as we would have thought. He bowled again today. His speeds are up in the high 120s (kmph). There are no injury concerns there," McDonald stated following the remarkable victory at the MCG.

"I think to sort of head that down that angle is a little bit unfair. We just haven’t required him at certain times for whatever reason, so that’s more a tactical implementation, as opposed to a body. The number of overs we’ve bowled across the series is likely to be beneficial for us," he added.

With the fitness of front-line pacer Mitchell Starc uncertain, pacers Jhye Richardson and Sean Abbott are included in Australia's squad for the Sydney Test.

Nevertheless, both Australia's captain Pat Cummins and McDonald expressed optimism regarding Starc's availability for the final match of the series.

"Throughout the entirety of the series, it’s been relatively light, so I’d expect both attacks to be in decent shape to press (in the final Test). So does that mean you need a fifth bowler? I think you still need a fifth bowler. But are you going to put a huge demand on the fifth bowler? Potentially not," McDonald remarked.

Marsh’s difficulties with the bat have been highlighted by his limited contributions in this series. The reigning Allan Border Medallist, who was Australia’s standout Test batter last season with match-winning half-centuries in four out of six victories against Pakistan, the West Indies, and New Zealand, has only managed 73 runs at an average of 10.42. Notably, 47 of those runs were scored in a second innings in Perth when the match was already out of reach.

In comparison, Nathan McSweeney, who was dropped for the fourth Test, scored 72 runs at an average of 14.40.

Despite a challenging series and a history of self-doubt, coach McDonald conveyed confidence in Marsh's current mindset.

"Would he like better performances? There’s no doubt about that," he said. "Over four Test matches, he hasn’t been able to deliver at the level that he would like and we would like, but yeah he’s up and about. We just won a Test match. He’s in a pretty good headspace."

Australia released Richardson to participate in a BBL match for the Perth Scorchers in Adelaide on New Year’s Eve. He will rejoin the squad on Wednesday, and despite his history of injuries, coach McDonald expressed confidence in his readiness to play if needed.

"Very confident. He’s here for a reason. So if we weren’t confident, he wouldn’t be here. He’s had a heavy week with us in the nets. All indications are he’d be capable of bowling 40-plus overs if he was called upon," he added.

"Sean Abbott is there as well. We believe that the SCG is his home ground, so he will be serviceable if called upon too. It’s about assessing our frontline quicks and then making decisions from there," the coach concluded.