'One more day': Marsh hopes good times roll into Test summer

Days after the World Cup had been won, Mitch Marsh wondered whether he had taken things too far as he continued the celebrations on his boat off Rottnest Island.

"I had the medal around my neck for the whole day, which I kind of thought may have been entering 'flog territory'," Marsh told cricket.com.au's Unplayable Podcast.

"We had other people driving past on boats, yelling out. I certainly felt the love. I was swimming with the medal on – all sorts. There's a bit of Pete Murray about it (the medal) – it's seen better days – but it’s all part of the story."

The following day, coach Andrew McDonald checked in on his star allrounder.

"I had a couple of texts from Ronnie saying, 'have you stopped yet?' That was on Thursday. I said 'just give me one more day, coach'," a grinning Marsh recalled.

Marsh might still be partying now if it wasn't for the fact Australia need him to be the fulcrum of their Test XI when they take on Pakistan in Thursday's NRMA Insurance series opener.

Given his career was at a crossroads only 12 months ago when he underwent major surgery, the 32-year-old had good reason to take a few days to soak up a successful period capped by the unlikely ODI success in Ahmedabad.

Marsh’s Test recall earlier this year, which came at the expense of state teammate Cameron Green during the Ashes tour, vindicated his decision to have surgery to fix a long-standing left ankle issue in December 2022. 

Going all-in on a bid to reclaim a Test spot required hard work and a long period of rehabilitation that had no guarantees of paying off. Marsh acknowledged there had been some temptation to pivoting to a limited-overs focus instead.

"I'm really proud that I never gave up because it would have been … not easy, but playing white-ball and play lots of T20 around the world (could have been an option)," he said.

"There's always been a part of me that has loved wearing my Baggy Green.

"Test cricket is so hard and it has certainly provided me with the most challenges throughout my career, as a player and as a batsman especially.

"I feel now I'm as well equipped as I ever have been throughout my career, with my cricket and outside of cricket with my life."

That Marsh has never been more valuable to Australia in all three formats underscores his remarkable journey.

This week will mark the Western Australian's first Test at Perth Stadium, as well as his first in his hometown since scoring a maiden Test century at the WACA Ground during the 2017-18 Ashes.

After most of his family missed his comeback century at Headingley in July for his brother Shaun's 40th birthday, Marsh expects around 30 relatives to attend on Thursday.

He hopes it has an uplifting effect.

"One of my things is when my family are at the ground, I have to know where they're sitting," Marsh said.

"More so to make me feel good, to know where my family is, and if I get tense out in the middle, I always just look back at my family. I'll have about 25 here on day one and a few (more) in the stands as well.

"I'm absolutely pumped for that."

Going past his father Geoff's mark of 50 Tests (Mitch has played 35) is an enduring motivator.

But Marsh insists that following his old man into becoming a Test opener, as has been floated as a possibility once David Warner retires, is not.

After joking that "if Ron (McDonald) is okay for me to try and get 150 before lunch on day one, I'll put my hand up," he stressed: "There's obviously been a little bit of chat about it and that's all well and good – but I just got back into the team.

"I'm thoroughly enjoying my role at number six and that's really all I'll focus on.

"I'm happy for people to talk about it, but I don't like being a part of the conversation because ultimately my job is to bat number six next week, and that's what I'm looking forward to."

NRMA Insurance Test series v Pakistan

Prime Minister's XI v Pakistan XI: Match drawn

First Test: December 14-18, Perth Stadium (1.20pm AEDT)

Second Test: December 26-30, MCG (10.30am AEDT)

Third Test: January 3-7, SCG (10.30am AEDT)

Australia squad: (first Test only) Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Lance Morris, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner

Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi