Australian captain Mitchell Marsh has confirmed he will serve as a specialist batter for the foreseeable future.
The West Australian, once considered a genuine all-rounder, has only produced seven overs in his 27 most recent T20Is, dating back to October 2022.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday ahead of the first T20 against the West Indies in Kingston, the injury-prone Marsh confessed his bowling was currently “offline”.
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“We’ll see where that gets to, but looking forward to just playing as a batsman for the moment,” he said.
Pressed on whether the plan was to continue that role through to next year’s T20 World Cup in the subcontinent, Marsh said: “Yes it is, yes.”
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Marsh will open the batting alongside Victoria’s Jake Fraser-McGurk, while Hobart Hurricanes hero Mitch Owen will make his international debut in the middle order, becoming Australia’s 112th men’s T20I cricketer.
“Like most guys coming in and out of the squad over the next (19) games, we’ll see guys bat in different positions and get opportunities in certain positions,” Marsh continued.
“First and foremost, it’s always we’re representing Australia, we’re here to win the series and culturally, that’s how we want to go about it.
“There will be guys that get opportunities.
“We’ve obviously got a few guys missing for this series for a well-earned rest, but we want guys to be flexible, fluid, come together as a team and be really connected.”
The first T20 between the West Indies and Australia gets underway at Kingston’s Sabina Park on Monday at 10am AEST.
Australian XI
Mitch Marsh (c), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Josh Inglis (wk), Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Owen, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa
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