Mitch Marsh has likely played his last first-class match for Western Australia, leaving his Test future in limbo.
This masthead can reveal the 34-year-old informed WA teammates of his intention to step away from red-ball cricket for his state following their Sheffield Shield match against Victoria on Sunday, according to sources speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Mitchell Marsh after scoring a century in the third Test of the 2023 Ashes.Credit: Getty Images
While Marsh has indicated he will retire at the end of the Sheffield Shield season, it is unlikely he will feature again for WA in first-class cricket.
Marsh has played just nine Shield matches for WA since 2019
Marsh, who had been discussed by selectors as a potential Ashes option, made scores of nine and four in the match in Melbourne. Despite that, Marsh, who made his debut for his state against NSW in 2009, is understood to have told teammates he has not closed the door completely on playing Test cricket if selectors approach him.
How that would work given he would not be an active Sheffield Shield player remains unclear, although Marsh remains Australia’s incumbent T20 and ODI captain and is a star in the white-ball game.
Marsh, who has had a long list of injuries during his playing career, is resigned to the fact he may not play another Test.
Selectors could theoretically pick Marsh for a Test without any recent first-class cricket, but such a move would be highly unusual. There are no more Sheffield Shield matches this year and Marsh will be involved with Australia’s T20 side for the World Cup when the domestic first-class competition resumes next year.
“We would be comfortable picking someone, and if you want to put a name to it, Mitch Marsh, out of white-ball cricket if we felt like that was going to benefit the Test team,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said in October.
