Marsh mounts case for ODI opening gig

Impromptu ODI opener Mitch Marsh is putting together a strong case for more opportunities in the role after a second consecutive half-century for Australia against India.  

Promoted to join Travis Head at the top of the Aussie order for the first ODI on Friday, with David Warner still under an injury cloud, Marsh top-scored for the visitors with a commanding 81 off 65 balls which included five sixes.  

He backed that up with a brutal 66 not out from only 36 balls on Sunday as Australia chased down India's total of 117 in just 11 overs.  

Marsh had never opened in his 69 ODIs before this series but said he has been enjoying batting with the Powerplay fielding restrictions. 

"To be honest it's pretty exciting to have 10 overs with only two (fielders) out," Marsh said with a grin in the post-match press conference on Sunday.  

"I've just got to calm myself and get to the end of the Powerplay." 

Marsh made a similarly significant move in the batting order in the lead up to the T20 World Cup in 2021 when a shift to the No.3 position in that format proved to be a masterstroke by the Australian management.  

Having batted most of his T20I career at No.6 or lower, Marsh took the chance at first drop in July 2021 with both hands, hitting six half-centuries in 15 innings including a player-of-the-match 77 not out in the T20 World Cup final in November that year.  

Now with Australia preparing for a 50-over World Cup that will begin in India this October, coach Andrew McDonald and the coaching staff will have to consider if Marsh can make a similar impact in a new role, just as he did two years ago.

To do so, he would have to displace either the in-form Travis Head or 36-year-old Warner, whose record puts him among Australia's best ODI openers.

Warner's 6,007 ODI runs (at an average of over 45) places him in 10th all time for Australia, having hit 19 centuries across 141 matches. 

And 2022 was among the most productive years of his career, scoring 552 runs including a century and four half-centuries.  

While he has sat out the first two matches of the ongoing series against India due to injury, the left-hander has vast experience in Indian conditions (he has 5881 runs in the Indian Premier League) and his strong ODI record in India includes two centuries and an average above 55.  

Head meanwhile has established himself as a reliable performer after being given first crack at the opening role following Aaron Finch's retirement in the middle of last year.  

Since returning to Australia's ODI side in November against England, the South Australian has scored 296 runs in five innings including a best of 152.  

India captain Rohit Sharma, who is on the brink of becoming the 15th player to cross the 10,000-run mark in men's ODIs, said Marsh is among the best power-hitters in the game. 

"Definitely in the top three, top four when it comes to power," Sharma said. 

"You saw, he could just stand and deliver and play the shots. He backs himself to do that." 

Australia have only nine more ODIs to finalise their plans before the World Cup – the final match of this series in Chennai, a five-match series in South Africa in late-August and September, and a three-match series in India again as a lead-in to the tournament.