Mitchell Marsh likely to retire from first-class cricket: report

Australia’s white-ball captain Mitchell Marsh is reportedly preparing to retire from Sheffield Shield cricket, according to a report by Sydney Morning Herald.

According to the report, the 34-year-old has informed teammates that this season will likely be his last in red-ball cricket for Western Australia.

His return to the Shield circuit earlier this summer, aimed at keeping himself in the Ashes conversation, didn’t go to plan.

Marsh managed just two single-digit scores against Victoria, and with limited red-ball appearances since 2019, this comeback might well be his final outing at state level.

If confirmed, the decision would formally end a first-class chapter that began back in 2009, but Marsh is reluctant to close the door on his Test career.

Despite a lack of domestic red-ball cricket, the all-rounder still believes he can contribute to Australia’s Test side, and key figures in Australian cricket aren’t ruling it out either.

Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald said earlier in the season that the selectors would not hesitate to pick Marsh straight out of white-ball cricket if they felt he added value to the Test setup.

“We would be comfortable picking someone, and if you want to put a name to it, Mitch Marsh, out of white-ball cricket if we felt like that was going to benefit the Test team,” McDonald said.

“He’s the captain of the white-ball team. It’s very hard for him to vacate and balance out Test preparation, if he was to be in the window for that. We still haven’t given up on Mitch Marsh’s Test career.”

Chief selector George Bailey echoed that sentiment, suggesting Mitchell Marsh could still feature at some point in the upcoming Ashes summer, even if he wasn’t part of the early plans.

“He’s got a game that could provide an injection, a different look at how he might attack it,” Bailey said. “It’s not the path we’re going down to start the series, but what it looks like later on, we’ll see.”

Since debuting in 2014, the all-rounder has played 46 Tests, scoring 2,083 runs at 28.53 and taking 51 wickets.