Michael Clarke has confirmed that Shaun Marsh will make his Test bow in the second Test between Australia and Sri Lanka in Pallekele, and will bat at No. 3 in the absence of Ricky Ponting.
Australia seem to be making a habit of putting their cards on the table well in advance of the toss in terms of the make-up of their side, having confirmed their XI the day before the first Test began in Galle.
Marsh was widely expected to claim a place in the side for the second Test with Ponting having flown home to be present at the birth of his second child, but the news that Marsh will bat at No. 3 rather than No. 6 comes as a surprise.
It was thought that Usman Khawaja would move up from the middle order to fill the key position, but with Marsh having played the majority of his international cricket in the top order Australia’s selectors decided to put faith in the 28-year-old.
As expected no further changes have been made to the side that won the first Test by 125 runs in conditions which were completely foreign to the tourists.
“I’m very proud of it,” wicketkeeper Brad Haddin said of the win. “I think it also shows small steps forward, we’re trying to move forward as a cricket team and be better cricketers.
“To do that you’ve got to play in different conditions. Whether it’s here, England, South Africa, wherever. You’ve got to make sure you’re trying to get better and better so you can present yourself well on all services.
“I think it’s a little tick in the box, the way we did handle ourselves throughout the whole game, and the result came out in the end. From a team point of view I think it was a very good result to get the win, especially on something so foreign to us.”
Marsh admitted on Monday that he had taken longer than anticipated to fulfill his potential because of his poor work rate early in his career, but Haddin is in no doubt that the left-hander is ready for his Test bow.
“It will be disappointing to lose Ricky, but it’s a good opportunity to give Shaun Marsh a crack at Test cricket,” Haddin said. “He’s going to be a wonderful player I think, Shaun, and I think he’s ready now for Test cricket.
“He’s done a lot of growing up, from a cricket point of view, in the last 24 months and we’re really looking forward to him having a crack at Test cricket. I think he can be something pretty special.
“Shaun, as a person, he feels a lot more comfortable around the group now, he’s been here the whole tour and I think he’s really starting to understand his game. I think he’s pretty close to doing some special things for Australia.
“We’ve seen some glimpses of it in one-day cricket for us. He’s got some pretty important runs and tough runs at times, which has been good, so I’m just looking forward to him having a crack at this because he’s had a long tour here, and he deserves a go.”
Australia XI for 2nd Test: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Phil Hughes, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Usman Khawaja, 7 Brad Haddin, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Ryan Harris, 10 Trent Copeland, 11 Nathan Lyon.
