Mitchell Marsh highlights how a family casualty affected him during the UAE tour as vice-captain
Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh disclosed the family tragedy occurring during the Test tour of the UAE in 2018-19 against Pakistan. Mitchell Marsh underlined that it caused him to perform woefully when the team needed him as vice-captain.
It was Australia's first Test assignment after the ball-tampering saga forced Steve Smith and David Warner out of cricket for a year. It left the door ajar for Mitchell Marsh to stamp his authority. However, he couldn't do it. Since that tour, the West Australian has played only two Tests.
Career-best with the bat š 75 off 44
Career-best with the ball āļø 3/24 off 4.0
Player of the Match Mitchell Marsh was at the heart of @CricketAusā victory over West Indies.
bit.ly/WIvAus4 | #WIvAUS https://t.co/5VJLSVt7qy
Marsh said one of his good friends, the better half of his cousin, had committed suicide. The 29-year old stated that it unsettled him before the first Test in Dubai and that he regretted not being with his cousin.
"My good mate Jarvo, who was dating my cousin at the time, unfortunately got to a point in his life where that was the only option for him and it was extremely sad at the time. To get that news probably a week out from the first Test was very tough to deal with."
"I sort of felt guilty at that time being away from my family, being away from my cousin, and it was just unfathomable that he was gone, and I was away from home," Marsh told Mark Howard in the Howie Games Podcast.
The seam-bowling all-rounder revealed it was also tough to return home since he was responsible as vice-captain. Marsh thought as a reasonably experienced player in a young team, he had to prove his credentials. However, he was mentally not in a good place, leading him to underperform.
"If Iād had my time again, I definitely would have gone home, but Iād just been announced as vice-captain of the Test team; a huge honour. We had a reasonably young and different squad, so I really wanted to be there. And I was going to be batting at No. 4 that series, so in my head I was like, āItās too good of an opportunity to give upā."
"I didnāt sleep for a whole week, going through something like that. Everyone deals with it differently, but I just couldnāt sleep, had a lot of thoughts running through my head,"
He averaged a forgettable 7.50 with the bat in two Tests against Pakistan, managing a top score of 13. The all-rounder struggled throughout the series despite top-scoring with 162 off 298 balls in a practice game. Usman Khawaja's defiance knock in the second innings of the first Test was the only highlight as the tourists lost the series 1-0.
Mohammad Abbas was all over me: Mitchell Marsh
Mitchell Marsh admitted that sleepless nights and stress had caught up with him. The West Australian revealed that Pakistan seamer Mohammad Abbas was seaming the ball beautifully on a lifeless wicket, rendering him listless. It all left him with more questions instead of answers.
"Stupidly I didnāt even go off after that, because I just wanted to be playing cricket for Australia. I think all the stress and lack of sleep contributed to that, and then a couple of days later went into a Test match. And obviously my performances in that Test series were horrific."
"Abbas seemed to have the ability to seam the ball on probably the flattest wicket of all time, and was all over me. Iāve just got this distinct memory of fielding at deep point on the day of Jarvoās funeral, and just thinking, āIs this all worth it? What am I doing here?"
Currently, Marsh has created a niche for himself in T20I cricket. The 29-year old will head to the UAE as Australia hope to lift their maiden T20 trophy under Aaron Finch's captaincy.