Mitch Marsh is “spewing”.
Just as sublime cricket talent runs in his genes, so too does an unfortunate ability by the Marsh family to fall narrowly short of making milestone centuries at the MCG.
Marsh continued his outstanding form since earning a recall midway through the Ashes when steering his nation from a torrid position in the Boxing Day Test on Thursday.
Having ridden his luck early, with Abdullah Shafique dropping a dolly from Marsh when he was on 20, the all-rounder powered to 96 before edging Mir Hamza to first slip.
‘The Test match was on that catch!’ | 00:39
This time there was no reprieve for Marsh, who fell in the 90s for the second Test in succession after Agha Salman grasped a superb catch when diving to his right.
The anguish the 32-year-old felt at falling short of scoring a Test century at the MCG was apparent as Marsh left the field, with the disappointment shared around the ground.
“I guess there is a lot of history at this ground with the Boxing Day Test and a bloody big honours board I was close to getting on, but it wasn’t meant to be,” Marsh said, adding in an ABC interview that he was “spewing”.
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The disappointment comes nine years after his elder brother Shaun was run-out for 99 in the second innings of the Boxing Day Test match against India at the ground.
Previously, his father Geoff Marsh made 86 in his final outing at the famous ground against India in 1991.
“Shaun has technically still got me, so I guess there is a little bit of history there for us. But hopefully I get one more crack at it,” Marsh said.
Australia will be hoping Marsh is in a similarly rich vein of form when it hosts India and England in the Boxing Day Tests over the next two summers given his capabilities.
The right-hander, who is averaging more than 70 since being recalled to the national team in place of Cameron Green, arrived at the crease with Australia at 4-16 on the third day.
Hamza was on a hattrick after initially inducing David Warner to play on before then producing the ball of the day when beating Travis Head comprehensively with an inswinger.
With the MCG crowd roaring, Marsh saw the hattrick ball off and then went about shoring up Australia’s position with Steve Smith, with the pair combining for a 153-run partnership.
A catalyst in Marsh’s emergence as a force in the Australian side has been his willingness to take the game on and not become bogged down by being too defensive.
As he quipped on Thursday night, there are more holes in his defence than “Swiss cheese”.
But the situation was precarious. Australia was four wickets down with a lead of just 70 runs and Pakistan’s bowlers were firing inswingers here and seaming balls there. After a slow start, suddenly they were a chance of squaring the series. It was game on.
“There are a lot of voices inside your head at four for 16,” Marsh said.
“But I think it just comes back to being true to myself (and) being really clear on my role within this team and knowing that how I play my best.
“I guess getting on the counter attack and being positive in that situation … it can almost put more pressure on you when there’s a couple of guys building a partnership.
“It was just about getting myself in and then playing the way I have for the last like six months.”
Not for the first time in this Test, Marsh received a rousing reception as he was walking to and from the middle of the MCG.
This is in stark contrast to his previous Test appearance at the ground in 2018 when he was booed when bowling after being called on to replace Victorian Peter Handscomb in the team.
“I shut that door a long time ago, personally, but I guess the story around coming back is hopefully a nice one, but I’ve certainly felt a lot of support and it’s been amazing,” he said.
Courtesy of Marsh’s starring role, Australia leads by 241 runs with four wickets in hand leading into Day 4 as Australia seeks to clinch the series after the success in Perth before Christmas.
When asked what lead the hosts would like to set Pakistan, Marsh quipped “500.”
“But I think that if we were all out now, we would feel very much in the game,” he said.
“I don’t necessarily want to put a number on it for our bowlers, but we know that they can certainly hold the bat, so a couple of good partnerships with some tired bowlers now, hopefully we can get up towards the 300 mark. But I guess anything from here will take.”
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