Australia’s options to find a new limited overs captain get thinner, with all-rounder Mitchell Marsh ruling himself out of the race. The 30-year-old was one of the top contenders for the role after Aaron Finch retired from the fifty-over format last month.
Marsh, who has battled injuries throughout his career, said captaincy is not on his radar right now and wants to focus on keeping his body fit.
“Probably not to be honest, I’m out of the race. I’ve had to get the body right for this World Cup. The World Cup is such an exciting prospect for all of us, to worry about that sort of stuff [captaincy] is just not on my radar at the moment,”
the player said.
He backing out leaves David Warner as the prime candidate, although that would need Cricket Australia to overturn his captaincy ban imposed for his role in the 2018 ball-tampering scandal.
When asked about Warner as a potential man to lead the side, Marsh didn’t endorse Warner outrightly but did say the experienced pro would bring a lot to the table.
“He’s a great leader among our group. As far as all the decisions go, I certainly steer clear of all those conversations. But he’s a great man to have in the squad.”
The 35-year-old Finch will consider his T20 future after the T20 World Cup, but if the board decide they want one captain for both limited-overs formats, Finch will have to relinquish his position.
Marsh, who struck 36 off 26 at his usual number three in the first T20I in Perth, is currently being managed with some injury concerns and playing only as a batter in the ongoing series against England.
He is eyeing the first warm-up game of the World Cup as a possible window to start bowling. The Aussies, playing with a batting-heavy approach, will be looking to get four overs out of Marsh, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell as they look to defend their T20 World champions crown.
