World Cup semi-final, Australia v South Africa: The career-saving surgery that ignited Mitchell Marsh

The origins of Australia’s World Cup revival can be traced back to a gutsy all-or-nothing decision by Mitchell Marsh – and a selfless act that could’ve ended his career.

Mitchell Marsh’s World Cup heroics can be traced back to a gutsy all-or-nothing decision to risk his career by going under the surgeon’s knife.

After a decade of floating in and out of international cricket and battling chronic ankle problems, Marsh decided to sacrifice everything to try and get it right for this year’s Ashes and World Cup.

Doctors told him that if the ankle operation went wrong he would never be able to bowl again – an outcome that would effectively spell the end for an all-rounder.

Instead of going under the knife, Marsh could easily have elected to switch his focus to making a lucrative and less taxing living on the T20 circuit.

But his brave decision to roll the dice has been rewarded, first by a career-defining Ashes century, and now the chance to pilot Australia into a World Cup final.

“There were parts of the surgery he could basically guarantee that it was going to fix it. And other parts where we didn’t really know,” Marsh told this masthead.

Marsh has had an enormous impact this World Cup, and been a major player in their revival after two early losses. Picture: AFP

“There’s always an element of risk when you go under the knife that things aren’t going to be quite right but thankfully (they) did a great job.

“To be honest, I had the surgery to get on the Ashes tour. That was the only reason I really had the surgery. And so, getting to the end of the Ashes was a great moment to look back on the five months of rehab and a lot of self-doubt and getting through that surgery.

“I look back now and am really happy that we did it.”

Marsh had dealt with ankle issues for a decade.

Marsh floated in and out of Australian teams.

Marsh is already a player who over the years has knocked back millions of dollars in Indian Premier League offers to prioritise getting his troublesome body right to play for Australia.

Captain Pat Cummins lauded the sacrifice he made for his country by undertaking surgery which ruled him out of all of last summer and could have left him unable to bowl again.

“Yeah for sure. He made that choice to get the surgery to try and give himself the chance to be able to be an all-rounder,” Cummins said.

“He didn’t want to just be a batter.

“The big reason was to get back to red ball cricket.

Cummins (L) recognised the sacrifice made by Marsh. Picture: Getty

“He missed all of last summer. It was a pretty gruelling rehab to get himself back. It’s a huge effort by him.

“His ankle is still something you’ve got to manage and I don’t think you can ever expect him to bowl the kind of overs that us full-time bowlers will bowl. But it’s been a big effort from him.”

Marsh’s effort to get himself back to bowl again could now have a major bearing on Australia’s plans for Thursday’s World Cup semi-final against South Africa in Kolkata.

Mitchell Marsh plays a shot during his rampant World Cup scoring this month. Picture: Getty

If selectors feel comfortable enough with Marsh’s input with the ball, then they may elect to leave out fellow all-rounder Marcus Stoinis from the XI and back in the extra batting of Marnus Labuschagne for the do-or-die semi.

Marsh is unlikely to be relied upon for any more than a few overs, but that could just be the difference in Australia progressing to another final.

“I’ve had this ankle for my whole career. I’ve had five surgeries on it and the last three years I’ve had all these touch ups and fixing up minor things here and there,” Marsh said.

“Now I’ll make the most of being able to bowl. The thing is I love bowling. I love being an all-rounder. So I’ll try and do that for as long as I possibly can.”

Originally published as World Cup semi-final, Australia v South Africa: The career-saving surgery that ignited Mitchell Marsh