Australian head coach Andrew McDonald concedes Mitch Marsh hasn’t been scoring as many runs as selectors would like against India and is confident Sean Abbott or Jhye Richardson could step up if Mitchell Starc was to be ruled out of the SCG Test due to injury.
Australian players made their way to Sydney on Tuesday following a famous win at the MCG that saw Pat Cummins’ side take a 2-1 lead in the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
Friday’s fifth and final Test in Sydney shapes as one of the most highly-anticipated matches in decades, given both teams can still take the trophy after a hard-fought series full of drama and spice.
Winning teams generally don’t like to change their playing XI but Australia have a number of selection headaches to work through.
The main one is whether to stick with Marsh at No.6 given his latest scores of 9, 5, 2, 4, 0 for a series return of 73 runs at 10.4.
Tasmanian all-rounder Beau Webster is in Australia’s squad and raring to go if given a baggy green after impressive performances at Sheffield Shield level.
Mitch Marsh walks off the MCG after his second innings dismissal.Credit: AP
He is the only player alongside Garry Sobers in Sheffield Shield history to make more than 900 runs and take 30 wickets in a season.
“He’s in a good [head] space,” McDonald said of Marsh. “Would you like better performances? There’s no doubt about that. Over four Test matches, he hasn’t been able to deliver at the level he would like and we would like.
“He’s up and about though. We just won a Test match.”
McDonald played down suggestions Marsh wasn’t completely fit when it came to his bowling loads. Across four Tests, Marsh has bowled 33 overs, taking 3-139, with Australia preferring to use other fast bowlers.
Australia are keen to have a fifth bowling option in Sydney at a ground that has traditionally favoured batters in recent years.
Sam Konstas, Sean Abbott and Beau Webster pose for a photo before the MCG Test. Credit: Paul Jeffers
“[The bowlers] are in pretty good shape and the assumptions are they recover from this one,” McDonald said. “Does that mean you need a fifth bowler? I think you still need a fifth bowler. But are you going to put huge demand on a fifth bowler? Potentially not.”
Starc was coy about his injury after the match and there has been no official diagnosis, according to a team spokesperson. It is more a case of general soreness that tended to get better the more Starc got into his spells.
Australia usually have their main training session two days out from a Test – in this case, on Wednesday – but a short turnaround from Melbourne to Sydney means Starc might go easy in the nets. A call on his fitness might not be made until Thursday or the morning of day one.
“Clearly Starc is carrying something of some description,” McDonald said. “Other than that it looks as though we got through pretty unscathed.
Australia’s Mitchell Starc and Marnus Labuschagne appeal unsuccessfully for lbw against Yashasvi Jaiswal.Credit: AP
“Any time you get through the game, it’s always a good indicator that you’re a chance at the next game. It didn’t stop him. Clearly, there was a little bit of discomfort early on in spells, but once he got warm, you saw he was pretty free.
“We’ll see how everyone recovers tomorrow. I think the amount of overs that we have bowled in the series is probably going to be to a benefit to us.”
If Starc isn’t cleared to play, Australia have Abbott and Richardson on standby.
Richardson, who has played just two Sheffield Shield matches since October 2022, was released from the Test squad to play Big Bash in Adelaide on Tuesday night but will return to the group on Wednesday.
Abbott has 13 wickets for NSW in the Sheffield Shield this season at 19.84, while Richardson has played just one match (four wickets at 21.25).
Asked about the prospect of Richardson getting through a lot of overs, given his history of injuries, McDonald said: “Yeah, very confident. He’s here for a reason. If we weren’t confident, he wouldn’t be here. He’ll join us on the 1st [of January]. All indications are he’d be capable of bowling 40-plus overs if he was called upon.
“Sean Abbott’s there as well. The SCG is his home ground, so he will be serviceable if called upon as well. It’ll be about assessing our frontline quicks and then making decisions from there.”
Meanwhile, Australia won’t bring a spare batter into the squad to replace the injured Josh Inglis, who suffered a calf injury while sub-fielding at the MCG.
McDonald said it was a great win in Melbourne and wants the team to finish the job in Sydney. A draw would be enough for Australia to regain the trophy.
