3 reasons why Australia should play Mitchell Marsh as opener at the 2023 World Cup
Arguably the most destructive batter in world cricket currently, Mitchell Marsh has given the Australian think tank a few positive headaches to ponder for the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup in India.
Following a brilliant Ashes series where he scored a century and a half-century in the two matches he played, Marsh was appointed the captain of the Australian T20I side. In his first assignment as skipper, the all-rounder demolished the hosts with the bat while leading the Aussies to a 3-0 T20I series win against South Africa.
The power-hitter scored 186 runs in the three matches while being dismissed only once at an other-worldly strike rate of 186. In addition to manfully leading the side, Mitchell Marsh was adjudged the Player of the Series for his incredible batting.
Furthermore, the 31-year-old will lead the side in the upcoming ODI series against South Africa due to the injury to regular captain Pat Cummins.
Marsh has found tremendous success at the top of the order, including opening in the ODI format. It prompted Australia's fill-in T20I coach, Michael di Venuto, to state that the all-rounder is in line to open the batting at the showpiece event.
With three solid opening options in veteran David Warner and the in-form Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh, it will be interesting to see the combination Australia go for the Mega event.
Considering the above, let us look at three reasons Australia should play Mitchell Marsh as the opener at the 2023 World Cup.
#1 Mitchell Marsh's recent success as an ODI opener in Indian conditions
Mitchell Marsh displayed breathtaking form in Australia's stunning ODI series win in India earlier this year.
While Australia might have stumbled upon the idea only because of the injury to regular opener David Warner, the 31-year-old all-rounder grabbed his opportunity with both hands. In the three games, Marsh scored 194 runs at an average of 97 and a 131.08 strike rate to propel the visitors to a 2-1 series victory.
The Aussies play two or possibly three games in similar venues like Chennai and Mumbai, where Marsh found tremendous success as an opener in the ODI series.
With just a few months' gap between that bilateral series and the upcoming World Cup, Australia will be well-served in continuing the Western Australian at the opening position.
#2 Opening with Marsh helps maintain a right-left batting combination
As we live in times dominated by analytics, teams devise various strategies to stay ahead of their opponent. One such aspect is maximizing the possibility of having a right-left batting combination operating at all times.
Among the three vying for the opening slot for the World Cup, only Marsh is right-handed, with David Warner and Travis Head being left-handers.
The all-rounder has tasted success with both Warner and Head. It is evidenced by his match-winning partnership with the former in the 2021 T20 World Cup final and his success with the latter in the ODI series in India.
With most teams boasting left-arm seamers and off-spinners capable of bowling in the powerplay, Marsh opening the batting with one of the two left-handers could help disrupt the line and length of the bowlers.
#3 Marsh's impact will be significantly higher starting against pace with a full 50 overs to bat
Growing up and playing all his first-class cricket for Western Australia, it is no secret that Mitchell Marsh prefers pace and bounce with the ball coming onto the bat.
It is the primary reason the 31-year-old has found incredible success at the top order in white-ball cricket, enabling him to kickstart his innings against pace. Mitchell Marsh is well-suited to hitting through the line of the new ball over the in-field against pacers in the powerplay overs, and that is when he is at his impactful best.
Evidence of that is his ODI average of 97 at a strike rate of 131 as an opener in three innings and over 42 as a top-order batter in T20Is at a 141.81 strike rate.
In contrast, his numbers dwindle substantially when batting in the middle-order with an average of 21 and a strike rate of 114 in T20Is and 32.40 at 89 as a non-opener in ODIs. Marsh is a slow starter against spin, indicated by his ODI strike rate of only 77.40 against the tweakers compared to a sensational 105.80 against pacers.
Beyond the numbers, it would be wise to ensure your most in-form batter faces the maximum balls in limited-overs cricket, especially on the batting-friendly Indian pitches during the World Cup.
Marsh, being in the form of his life across formats with an average of almost 79 in nine matches this year, should almost certainly walk out to bat and face the opening delivery.