Australia chief selector Bailey on Marsh’s possible Test return

Australia’s chief selector George Bailey said that experienced all-rounder Mitchell Marsh is still in team’s scheme of things for the highly-anticipated upcoming Ashes series against archrivals England.
The all-rounder from Perth, Marsh was dropped after the fourth Test against India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year after a string of bad performances with the bat. It was followed the Sri Lanka tour snub where Marsh was overlooked for the two-match Test series while battling a lower back injury.
“I don’t necessarily think his red-ball career is over. I don’t think he was scoring the runs he wanted or we would have wanted when we left him out of the Test side, but there’s still an incredibly exciting skill set there with the bat, the way he can rip a game open,” said Bailey.
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“If you look ahead to a team like England and the way they play their cricket, the way they seem to be framing up their team, I think he’s got a skill set there that could be helpful,” he added.
Marsh has been handed the role of an opener alongside South Africa’s Aiden Markram Lucknow Super Giants for the Indian Premier League 2025 season.
Former Australian cricketer, Bailey also believes Marsh is the central figure in the national set-up and will play an “incredibly important” role for the team.
“I still think he’s got an incredibly important role to play. He’s had some injury issues, and towards the back end of the summer, he was battling with his back a little bit. It’s an ongoing conversation as to where bowling may or may not fit into his international cricket going forward. At the moment, in the IPL, he’s available only as a batter,” Bailey said.