AUSTRALIA’S selection panel are under attack after promising Mitchell Marsh two Test matches, only to pull the carpet from under his feet.
Selectors cannot be blamed for the all out for 85 carnage that occurred on day one at Bellerive. That embarrassment is on the heads of the batsmen.
However, Rod Marsh and his crew must at some stage start taking responsibility for the confusing mixed messages that continue to undermine the entire selection system.
Otherwise Marsh – or Cricket Australia on his behalf – might need to urgently reconsider whether he should see out his term as National Selector which doesn’t expire until midway through next year.
“He is not cooked because we have actually picked this team for the first two Tests – he definitely has two Tests,” Waugh told Triple M last Saturday.
Dropped all-rounder Mitch Marsh was assured his spot was safe for the second Test.Source:AAP
That green tick was backed up by coach Darren Lehmann’s assertion that “the 12 was the 12”.
By Monday, Marsh was made aware that the goalposts had suddenly moved and he was now on the chopping block.
Those sleepless nights would have only cranked up once it became clear there was no issue with Adam Voges’ hamstring, and therefore Callum Ferguson was looming as the new No.6.
Come game time and Marsh was officially axed, his career at the cross roads.
Marsh’s unacceptable batting average of 23 suggests he wouldn’t have made a difference at Bellerive, and the logic that this would be a wet Test where an all-rounder could be dispensed with, in isolation made complete sense.
However, no one forced the selectors to make a pledge to Marsh before the series that they weren’t prepared to keep.
Rogers on Australia's shock Test start 4:02
Cricket: Chris Rogers on Australia's shock Test start.
This fundamental breaking of trust can have far-reaching ramifications, because players no longer know where they stand in the eye of their superiors.
“Yes there is,” said former opener Chris Rogers when about mixed messages from selectors on Fox Sports.
“What do you say? I think they back themselves into a little bit of a corner and then there was a realisation with this Test it might be shorter … That’ll be that excuse but it’s really hard on Mitch Marsh.
“It does give an interesting message to the change room.”
Another recently retired great Mitchell Johnson also summed up the attitude cricketers have to policies and rules being changed on the run.
“Mitch Marsh ‘not cooked’ and won’t be dropped by Australia, says Mark Waugh,” tweeted Johnson, with a link to the Fox Sports story that printed those words in clear black ink.
This isn’t the first time this kind of thing has happened – and not the first time it’s happened to Marsh either.
Rod Marsh and his crew must take responsibility for sending mixed messages to players.Source:Getty Images
During the 2015 World Cup Shane Watson was axed by National Selector Rod Marsh, giving Mitchell Marsh his opportunity.
But a couple of days later Mark Waugh had the casting vote and decided to bring Watson straight back.
Jackson Bird has been given mixed messages in two consecutive seasons – initially that he didn’t bowl quickly enough, and now that he’s not a good enough No.11 batsman.
In far more difficult circumstances, the Australian camp was rocked by Brad Haddin not getting his spot back following his daughter’s ill health during last year’s Ashes, despite an understanding there was a ‘family first’ policy.
To his credit Lehmann has since conceded he shouldn’t have taken Haddin and Watson on that tour if they were going to be dropped so soon.
Mitchell Marsh’s demise seemed inevitable, and if he isn’t recalled for the third Test in Adelaide he should get at least two Sheffield Shield matches to make runs at state level for WA before the next series starts against Pakistan.
Selectors shouldn’t be blamed for dropping Marsh, but they should accept responsibility for breaking promises.
Originally published as Broken promises: ‘Marsh not cooked?’
