Published 16:43 IST, September 12th 2019
Ashes: Mitchell Marsh sacrifices millions of dollars to play Test
Australian International cricketer Mitchell Marsh has made a big-money sacrifice to be a part of the Ashes this year in which he will now play only one match.
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Australian International cricketer Mitchell Marsh has made a sacrifice of millions to be part of the Ashes this year. Mitchell Marsh skipped the Indian Premier League auction and gave up the opportunity to earn a multimillion-dollar contract to instead focus on playing in England, where the World Cup and Ashes are being hosted this year.
'Extraordinary move'
Calling the move extraordinary, a senior cricket writer said that Mitchell Marsh turned his back on big money from the Indian Premier League to make this (Test) squad. However, he did not end up playing for English county Surrey due to an injury.
Mitchell Marsh will be seen playing the fifth and final Ashes Test at the Oval, starting Thursday, in place of batsman Travis Head. It will be his first Test appearance since Boxing Day 2018, against India, and his fourth since being named a co vice-captain for Australia in September 2018.
He earned AUD1 million playing for Pune when he was a part of IPL in 2016. However, this time, due to a new billion-dollar broadcast rights deal and an increased salary cap, the contract would have made Marsh earn far more. In an earlier interview, Marsh talked about how he took the decision of going back to England early, based on cricket. He said that there’s a lure about IPL money and playing in India but also that his decision is based on the game itself. He had added that a lot of cricket matches were coming up in England over the next few years and that he wants to give himself the best opportunity through them.
Marsh's performance improved
With an average of 25.39, Marsh has shown some improvements while playing against English county sides. He scored an unbeaten 39 in a tour match for Australia against Worcestershire, which he also went ahead to back up with a top score of 74 against Derbyshire.
Even though these performances have been able to successfully place him in the mix for selection at Old Trafford, the selectors resisted the temptation to tweak Australia’s middle-order and retained both Travis Head and Matthew Wade. However, in the current situation with the urn already retained and fast bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood in need of a lighter workload, fast-bowling all-rounder Marsh has been recalled.
Marsh, during the last Ashes series in England in 2015, played three Tests, averaging 12 with the bat while taking eight wickets at 18.62.
15:50 IST, September 12th 2019