On the hottest July day in England since records began, it was hard to know what was at a higher temperature – a sweltering Chelmsford crowd or the scything blade of Mitchell Marsh
Daniel Brettig at Chelmsford01-Jul-2015
Scorecard1:33
‘If I perform the selectors will pick me’ – Mitchell Marsh
On the hottest July day in England since records began, it was hard to know what was at a higher temperature – a sweltering Chelmsford crowd or the scything blade of Mitchell Marsh. Billed as the pretender to Shane Watson’s place as the incumbent Test allrounder, Marsh advanced to his second century in as many innings to leave Essex bedraggled and place enormous pressure on the selectors.A first-innings hundred against a better attack than that presented by Kent at Canterbury was a significant achievement for Marsh, who came to England with two first-class hundreds and now has four. If it arrived in slightly more deliberate style than his joyful thrash at the St Lawrence Ground, 118 balls for three figures was still a rate to please the coach Darren Lehmann. Watson has plenty to do as a bowler in order to secure his spot for the first Investec Ashes Test at Cardiff next week.The major blemish for Marsh was a bad mix-up with Adam Voges when his state captain was on 49, leaving the pair momentarily at the same end of the pitch before the older man sprinted vainly for the bowler’s end. To that point Voges had looked the epitome of assurance, and it is difficult to see how he can be left out of the Cardiff XI following a memorable debut hundred against the West Indies in Dominica last month.’Not putting any pressure on myself’
Mitchell Marsh was not allowing Ashes dreams to cloud his thoughts during a commanding century on day one of Australia’s tour match against Essex that put him well and truly in the frame to be chosen as the team’s allrounder.
“I’m certainly not putting any pressure on myself,” Marsh said. “It doesn’t matter where you bat or play, if you take enough wickets and make enough runs the selectors are going to pick you at some stage. I’ve certainly put no pressure on myself, I’m just enjoying it and it’s a privilege to be on this tour.”
The deciding factor between Marsh and Shane Watson may well be how the pair bowl in this fixture, and Marsh was eager to take the ball even though he bowled plenty of overs against Kent in Canterbury. “I’m happy to bowl as many overs as the skipper wants me to bowl. I think bowling is something where the more you do, the better you get, so hopefully I can get some overs in this game.”
Marsh conceded he was at fault in the mix-up that ended in the run out of Adam Voges, at a time when the WA captain was playing fluently. “I’m still asking myself that to be honest. I almost ran Nev out too,” Marsh said. “Maybe it’s just a few nerves. I’m not too sure what happened there but it was certainly my fault and I owe my West Australian skipper a beer I think.”
As for the hottest English July day on record, the Perth-born Marsh struggled to see the significance. “I almost took the vest out to bat,” he said. “It was a beautiful day.”
Other encouraging signs were shown by David Warner, who looked to have struck an ideal balance between attack and defence in a morning innings that safely negotiated the new ball – even if it was delivered somewhat gently by Jesse Ryder – before picking gaps more or less at will. Chris Rogers was less happy with his day, adjudged caught behind then standing his ground in some disbelief before trudging from the field.Essex were more generous hosts than they had been in 2005, not only trading first use of a good pitch at the toss in return for a full four days of well-attended cricket to help replenish the county’s coffers, but also shelling no fewer than four chances – one from Watson, one from Peter Nevill and two from Marsh, albeit the first at 98. It was possible to wonder what impact an absent Reece Topley might have had in the humid air.Warner and Rogers resumed an opening union that was broken by the latter’s troubles with concussion in the West Indies, and over the course of the first 60 runs of the day showed their complementary qualities. Tom Moore was delighted to see the umpire’s finger raised when Rogers drove at a ball going across him and may have clipped the ground, and ecstatic when next ball Michael Clarke flicked absent-mindedly to a waiting Ryan ten Doeschate at leg gully. Once again Clarke had been unable to play the long innings.That blip did not mean an Australian collapse however, as Warner, Voges and Watson all played smoothly and well. None went on to three figures, Warner steering to gully when he seemed intent on reaching his century before the lunch interval, then Watson ending a serviceable stay by dragging ten Doeschate on to the stumps. It was an error that cleared the stage for Marsh, who was quickly into stride and and regularly advancing down the pitch to dropkick Aron Nijjar to the wide mid-on boundary.The power Marsh has always been able to summon is now augmented by greater discretion, something he had demonstrated on his Test match debut against Pakistan in the UAE. One straight drive was a picture of excellence, while the blow down the ground to get to his century left a permanent dent in the roof of the River Stand.Even accounting for the heat and the easy-paced nature of the pitch, Marsh has set down an impressive marker as the only member of the squad to make successive hundreds in these two matches. The fall of regular wickets at the other end, scotched by a sturdy hand from the reserve wicketkeeper Nevill, also meant Marsh could go on beyond his century as the day edged towards a sweaty, muggy close.He will need to do more on the morrow with the ball to make his claims undeniable, and this time Watson will be decidedly eager to roll his arm over after requesting an exemption from bowling against Kent in order to be as fit as possible for the Tests. If he can’t stand the heat, Marsh will be taking Watson’s place in the kitchen.