Australia’s World Cup hopes have taken another hit when star all-rounder Mitchell Marsh had to fly home for personal reasons and couldn’t play against England.
Marsh has returned back to Perth and will not play in the game against England on Saturday in Ahmedabad. This comes after Glenn Maxwell was ruled out of the match because he got a headache on Monday while playing golf.
Cricket Australia said in a statement on Thursday that Marsh had come home on Wednesday night by plane. “Australian allrounder Mitchell Marsh has returned home from the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 late last night for personal reasons,” the statement stated. “A date for his return to the squad will be announced soon.” At this point, no more information will be given.
Marcus Stoinis is likely to be able to join the team after recovering from a small calf injury that kept him out of the last two games against the Netherlands and New Zealand. Cameron Green is also likely to be called up, while Marnus Labuschagne is likely to stay in the middle order. For the game against England, Australia will only have 13 healthy players left. Sean Abbott and Alex Carey are the only others who can play.
Stoinis said Thursday morning, “He flew home late last night because he has a family matter.” We all know that family is very important. The right thing for him to do is to go home and see the people he needs to see. I don’t think there’s a set time for him to come back, but I’m sure he’ll do what he needs to do at home and then get back. He texted me last night and said, “I’ll be home for a bit, and then I’ll be back to win this World Cup.” That makes me smile.
He will be missed on the field and off it, too. His energy and enthusiasm will be missed by everyone on the team. But it’s pretty clear how the team will line up, so everything is taken care of. I made fun of him by telling him that he ought to just hand the overs back to me now. Thanks for that… He’ll be back soon, but we’ll miss him. The train keeps going.
With Marsh out, Steven Smith will probably go back to his favorite spot at No. 3, which is where he plays best. Two of Australia’s most powerful and destructive players, Marsh and Maxwell, will not be able to play against England as they try to secure a spot in the semi-finals. This is a big blow to Queensland.
Stoinis said that he hopes to be able to bowl 10 overs again, if needed, after his leg problem. “Today [Thursday], I’ll have a big workout to put myself through my paces.” “Touch wood, I think I’m ready to go,” he said. He tried to persuade coach Andrew McDonald and selector George Bailey that he was free to play against New Zealand in Dharamsala last week, but they chose to wait a week before letting him return.
“There’s been moving parts… it hasn’t been the smoothest campaign and we’ve gone from losing the first couple to now sitting in the top four,” said Stoinis. “There is a bright side to that. Before the finals, it’s always nice when boys start coming back to the team and other things like that. It was used by Heady [Travis Head] in the last game, so it could be our hidden weapon.
