Shaun Marsh resigned to never playing Test cricket again

Dumped batsman Shaun Marsh is uncertain whether he will ever wear the baggy green again, revealing he has no answers to his Test match form slump.

Shaun Marsh has had a horror 12 months with the willow. Picture: AAP

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Shaun Marsh is uncertain whether he will ever win an Australian Test recall and says he is “trying not to worry about it too much’’ as he sets his sights on continuing his dominant white ball form.

The much-maligned Marsh has responded to being dumped from the Test squad for the upcoming two-match series against Sri Lanka with 54 and a brilliant 131 in the one-day series against India and has been Australia’s form ODI batsman in the past 12 months.

“I’m not too sure,’’ the 35-year-old Marsh said of his Test prospects as the Australian team left Adelaide for Melbourne for the final match of the ODI series against India with the series tied at 1-1.

Shaun Marsh has had a horror 12 months with the willow. Picture: AAP

“I have just got to focus on playing some really good white ball cricket and then see what happens.’’

Marsh was dumped from the Test side after enduring a horror 12 months in five-day cricket.

Since making a brilliant 156 against England in Sydney in January last year, he has scored just 348 Test runs at 18.31, including just one half-century and 10 single digit scores.

But he has been Australia’s best one-day batsman, racking up four centuries from his past eight innings.

His 131 against India was his equal second-best, behind only the 151 he thumped against Scotland in Edinburgh in 2013.

Shaun Marsh salutes after reaching his ton in the second ODI against India. Picture: Getty

Asked why he had been so good at scoring against the white ball and so poor against the red one, Marsh said: “That’s a good question, I’m not too sure.”

“My Test stuff for the past 12 months has been really disappointing, so I’ve just made a conscious effort in this series to go out there free in my mind and to play my way and I’ve got to continue that now.

“I’m just trying to keep things as simple as I can out there, trying not to put too much pressure on myself and just prepare well.

“If I do that it gives me every chance to play well out in the middle.’’

Western Australian Marsh is averaging 42.32 in 62 ODI’s and just 34.31 in 38 Tests.

Marsh was philosophical about his Test axing.

“Obviously it was disappointing but at the end of the day I just didn’t score enough runs,’’ he said.

“You are there to score runs and I didn’t, so I tried to put that at the back of my mind and move on, just really focus on the white ball stuff coming up.

“That’s been going well, so I just need to try to continue that now.’’

Australian coach Justin Langer praised Marsh for his attitude after his superb knock at Adelaide Oval on Tuesday, where the home side lost by six wickets with four balls to spare following the heroics of Indian skipper Virat Kohli (104) and veteran MS Dhoni (55 not out) as they chased down the Aussies’ 9/298.

“I thought Shaun Marsh’s innings was absolutely brilliant,’’ said Langer.

Shaun Marsh of Australia plays a shot and is caught out in the deep during the Second One-Day International (ODI) match between Australia and India at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Tuesday, January 15, 2019. (AAP Image/Sam Wundke) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY, IMAGES TO BE USED FOR NEWS REPORTING PURPOSES ONLY, NO COMMERCIAL USE WHATSOEVER, NO USE IN BOOKS WITHOUT PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT FROM AAP

“We talk about getting big hundreds and he did that. He’s turning into a great one-day international player, with four hundreds in eight games.

“I am also really proud of the way that, after he was not selected for the next Test series against Sri Lanka, a lot of guys can, under that pressure, shrivel up.

“But he hasn’t, he’s stood tall, he’s working really hard, he’s had a couple of good innings and I’m really proud of Shaun.

“He’s an ultra-professional, is very much loved in the team and he’ll be a big part of our World Cup campaign this year.’’

Marsh said he “didn’t want to look too far ahead’’ and was just focusing on Friday’s series decider at the MCG.

“There is a big game coming on Friday and I just want to focus on that and continuing to play well,’’ he said.

“It’s always nice scoring hundreds for Australia but it was disappointing to get the loss (in Adelaide).

“It’s been nice to be able to contribute (in one-day cricket) over the past 12 months, I’ve really enjoyed it and hopefully that can result in a few wins now.’’