Border questions decision to rest Mitchell Marsh

January 14, 2016 03:50 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 03:14 am IST - Brisbane

Australia’s decision to rest Mitchell Marsh for the second One-Day match against India was questioned by former Australia captain Allan Border on Thursday.

It was announced before the opening game of the series on Tuesday that Marsh would be replaced in Australia’s squad by John Hastings for the second match at the Gabba ground in Brisbane on Friday.

The move was designed to the give the all-rounder a rest before an intense spell of cricket.

Marsh is not carrying an injury and the decision came about purely to give him a break.

“I cannot work it out, he must be knocked up from practising,” Border was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia.

“Because he hasn’t played a lot to be rested, really. If I was him I’d be insisting ‘if I’m in the side I’m going to play’”

Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, who recently retired, said he was always reluctant to take a break due to the risk of potentially placing unwanted pressure on his spot in the side when he returned.

“I wanted to play as many games for Australia as I possibly could and I never liked to give another guy an opportunity,” Haddin said on Thursday.

“Because if they come in and get a hundred, you might come back into the team but it puts that pressure on you that you don’t need. “(Marsh) hasn’t played a lot of cricket and he hasn’t had great opportunities to bat.”

“And during the one-day series it’s sometimes a great opportunity to get yourself back into the rhythm of batting leading into such a big series in New Zealand,” he added.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.