Moment of frustration leaves allrounder watching on for at least a month as he reflects on a costly lesson
Langer's message after Marsh's 'moment of madness'
Mitch Marsh has apologised for what his coach Adam Voges labelled "a moment of madness" that saw him punch a wall in frustration, with the Test allrounder vowing never to do it again.
Marsh will miss four to six weeks after scans confirmed he broke his right hand when he punched a wall after getting dismissed against Tasmania on Sunday.
The injury means Marsh will miss the start of the Test summer, and there's no guarantees he will win back his spot when he recovers.
The 27-year-old says he had never punched a wall before Sunday's incident and has vowed to learn from his mistake.
"It certainly will be an isolated incident, that's for sure, and it won't be happening again," Marsh said.
"It's a good lesson for me, hopefully it's a good lesson for other people as well.
"At the end of the day it's a game of cricket. Sometimes you get beaten, sometimes you get out, and you can't be punching walls.
"As a captain, I've done a lot of work in setting a good example on and off the field over the last 18 months since I took over.
"This is a small hiccup for me. I said I was disappointed in myself and it won't happen again, and it's not an example I want to be setting not only for my teammates, but for everyone here at the WACA and everyone else in cricket."
Marsh was wearing a glove when he punched the wall, and he knew straight away that he had suffered serious damage.
"It's my middle finger, just below the wrist there – a fracture straight through the bone," said Marsh, who was sporting a big cast when he fronted the media on Tuesday.
As for the message from Australia coach Justin Langer? "He just told me I'm an idiot basically. He was disappointed for me," Marsh said.
The WA skipper apologised to his teammates after the incident.
"It's pretty uncharacteristic of me to want to punch a wall. I'm a pretty easygoing sort of bloke," Marsh said.
"I'm just disappointed really – gutted.
"Just the feeling of letting your teammates down and not being able to be a part of the journey for the next four to six weeks, that was the point I wanted to stress to the lads, that I was really sorry and it's not an example I wanted to be setting.
"They got around me. They still love me, so it's all good."
Marsh said the timing of his injury was interesting given his recent conversations with teammates.
"I was saying to someone last week that I've never broken a bone in my life," Marsh said.
"We've had so many broken fingers in the last few months, and Shaun (Marsh) broke his wrist, so it came up in conversation.
"So that's another injury ticked off the list I guess."