‘I’m really blessed’: Marsh’s return as World Cup captain after 14 years (2024)

Standing on a beach in Trinidad after another training session under the Caribbean sun, Mitchell Marsh could not help but laugh at a cricket journey that has taken him back to the future.

Preparing to lead Australia in the Twenty20 World Cup, which begins next week in the West Indies and the USA, Marsh, 32, hopes to replicate his first big moment in the sport: lifting the Under-19 World Cup as captain more than 14 years ago.

“That’s a long time ago,” Marsh admitted, as he struggled for recall. “I’m still playing with Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa. It’s great that we’ve been able to play in a couple of World Cup wins together [the 2021 T20 World Cup and the 2023 50-over World Cup].

“We’ve had a lot of players from the Under-19s go on to play for Australia. That’s something we should be really proud of as a country. I’m really blessed to have shared my international career with them. That [U19 World Cup] really kick-started it for us.”

The international journeys of the three players have been very different. Hazelwood developed from a Test-only fast bowler to one of Australia’s finest all-format players, while Zampa is one of the game’s best white-ball spinners after accepting he would not play Test cricket.

However, Marsh went from wonder boy – the big, booming allrounder Australia were desperately searching for – to all but disappearing from view.

When he made a brief reappearance in the Test team at the end of the 2019 Ashes tour, Marsh openly admitted that “most people in Australia hate me”.

But the public’s attitude changed four years later after a brave and belligerent century at Headingley following an unexpected recall for the third Ashes Test when Cameron Green succumbed to a hamstring injury.

“I felt a bit more love, and when you’re not failing every second week they seem to like you a bit more,” Marsh said at the time, flashing his trademark, cheeky smile.

It was Twenty20 cricket that rejuvenated Marsh’s career on a long-forgotten white ball sweep through the West Indies and Bangladesh three years ago, when he was promoted to No.3 after a raft of withdrawals.

He was the leading run-scorer in both T20 series and went on to shine at the T20 World Cup in the UAE which followed, scoring an unbeaten 77 from 50 balls in the final against New Zealand to give Australia their first T20 world title.

Marsh’s men go into this tournament with confidence, having won the 50-over World Cup in India just six months ago.

“The one-day World Cup was one of the best experiences of my life and we’ve got a fairly similar team here,” Marsh said. “They’re a really experienced group that I’ve played a lot of cricket with. I feel really lucky to be a part of this team.

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“One of the key things that has made us a really good team is our ability to stay present and stay really calm in high-pressure situations. There’s no doubt we’re going to face that in this tournament.”

Marsh laughed again when asked how he felt about being given the chance of captaining Australia in a World Cup, having endured such frequent disappointments earlier in his career.

“It’s exciting,” he said. “It’s huge honour to be captaining Australia. More importantly for me is captaining this bunch of cricketers and people. Not just the players, but to be a leader among our coaching staff and to be seen as one is something I’m really proud of. I just want these guys to have fun.”

Injuries have plagued Marsh and his heavy frame during a stop-start career, and the lead-up to this tournament has been no different, with a slow-healing hamstring tendon sending him home early from the IPL.

Marsh will bat during a practice match against Namibia in Trinidad on Wednesday (AEST) but will not bowl or field and is unsure when he’ll be bowling again.

Australia will have just nine players for the game, with Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis all having a fews days at home after the IPL.

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