Australian all-rounder Mitch Marsh remains hopeful he’ll be able to prove his fitness for the upcoming one-day tour of India, after reaching a big milestone on Wednesday.
Marsh was ruled out of the Perth Scorchers’ Big Bash campaign in December after undergoing surgery on a longstanding ankle injury.
Marsh had carried that ankle complaint through Australia’s unsuccessful T20 World Cup campaign before the decision was made to sideline him.
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Speaking on Fox Cricket, Marsh says he still plans to be on the plane to India for the one-dayers starting in March – after he went for his first run on Wednesday.
“First running session today. Felt really nice to get back to that,” he said.
“It was pretty easy but quite tough.
“I’ve got a bit of work to do.”
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Marsh said his ankle was “feeling great” as he eyes a return to the Australian squad, after injuring cruelled any hope he had of a Test call-up.
“Hopefully (I’ll) be back playing in five or six weeks,” he revealed.
Marsh said he’s eyeing a return for WA’s final one day clash this domestic season in a bid to prove his fitness.
“I’m looking forward to that,” Marsh said.
“It’s the last domestic one dayer for us and then I’ll parachute in for another final which will be great (laughs).”
Marsh hasn’t played at an international level since November’s one-dayers against England.
Fellow Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is also pushing to prove his fitness in time for the trip to India, although remains less likely than Marsh.
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Maxwell still hasn’t nominated an official return date to competitive cricket since the horror leg break that almost ended his career.
Instead, Maxwell says he’s assessing his progress week by week and now seems less likely he’ll return for the Melbourne Stars before the end of the Big Bash.
“We’ve got the Test tour of India coming up and I was super motivated to get myself ready for that. Whether or not I’m on that, only time will tell,” he said on Fox Cricket.
“But I’ve done everything in my power to try and get ready for it and get myself back playing. There’s still a fair way to go.”
