"Shaun got run out for 99 and Dad got 86 here" - Mitchell Marsh opens up on his dismissal on 96 on Day 3 of Boxing Day Test against Pakistan
Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh recalled his brother Shaun and father Geoff also narrowly missing out on a hundred at MCG after he suffered the same fate on Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan. The West Australian wishes to have one more crack at scoring a Boxing Day hundred.
Marsh was dismissed for the second time in the series in the 90s, walking back for 96 as left-arm seamer Mir Hamza made a massive strike, with Agha Salman taking a sensational one-handed catch at slip.
The 32-year-old's entire family was present at the venue as he missed out on a well-deserved ton.
Speaking after Day 3, Marsh admitted that he was eager to get his name on the MCG honors board. He said, as quoted by Perth Now:
"Obviously disappointing … I thought we navigated our way out of a tricky situation to get a partnership with Smudge, and I guess there’s a lot of history at this ground, the Boxing Day Test, and a bloody big honors board that I was close to getting on, but it wasn’t meant to be.
"Shaun got run out for 99 and Dad got 86 here, so Shaun’s technically still got me… hopefully, I get one more crack at it."
The 32-year-old walked out at 16-4, with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hamza breathing fire with the ball. However, he was the aggressor in the 153-run partnership with Steve Smith, pouncing on any delivery short and wide.
"I don’t necessarily want to put a number on it for our bowlers" - Mitchell Marsh
Marsh admitted that the pitch made it hard for Australia to score runs and reckons that a lead of nearly 300 will be enough for them to win. He explained:
"It felt like really hard work, the ball was swinging around and Shaheen had his tail up – we know that he’s world-class. I still felt even on 96 that I could nick one, and I did – there’s still plenty in the wicket… for us to get in a position where we’re 240 ahead, we’re very happy.
"I think that if we were all out now we’d feel very much in the game… I don’t necessarily want to put a number on it for our bowlers but we know that they can certainly hold a bat so a couple of good partnerships with some tired bowlers now, hopefully, we can get up towards the 300 mark."
With the hosts already holding a lead of 241, Alex Carey will be hoping to take his side over 300.