2019 Ashes clashes: Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis dueling for Aussie all-rounder role

ASHES CLASHES: In the first of a series of pieces duking it out over positions in the Aussie squad, we start with the selection stoush for the contentious all-rounder role.

Mitchell Marsh or Marcus Stoinis? Which way will Australia go.

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In a series of Ashes pieces, Martin Gibbes and Joe Barton duke it out over every position in the Aussie squad, starting with the selection stoush for the contentious all-rounder role between two players at opposite ends of public perception.

Marcus Stoinis is ready for the red-ball challenge.

MARCUS STOINIS - Martin Gibbes

Between T20s, ODIs, Sheffield Shield, Big Bash and Test call-ups, Marcus Stoinis has certainly been in demand this summer.

And if the Aussies are serious about winning the Ashes then that workload shouldn’t ease any time soon.

There shouldn’t be any consideration for a fourth, yes a fourth, resurrection of the Mitchell Marsh Test crusade. Shield runs are a battle for him at the moment let alone a return to the international stage. No Henriques, no Labuschange (as an all-rounder), no James Pattinson.

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Stoinis has to be the choice. Tests are the natural progression for the limited overs mainstay. And The Ashes the perfect theatre.

Batting is his stronger suit, which considering Australia’s lack of top order runs in recent times, makes him an ideal fit. He’s showing off a much tighter technique and a more discernible eye.

But his bowling value shouldn’t be underestimated either. If Joe Root, Jos Buttler and co are going at full steam then a subtle change of pace could just be the answer.

It’s a pity he won’t get the chance to enhance his cause against the Dukes ball in the Sheffield Shield over the next few weeks.

Not that he’s been struggling for runs and wickets, even before his two-month Big Bash binge. Stoinis was putting together an impressive season in the four-day game, with 298 runs at a tick over 42 (and three half centuries to boot) and 10 wickets at 25.42.

That represents a huge step in the right direction on his previous first-class numbers and shows just how much his stock has risen.

On top of his Shield numbers, Stoinis scored 533 runs at 53.3 while opening for Melbourne Stars in the recent BBL, the best batting average of any player in the competition. He backed that up with 14 wickets at 16.14, the second best bowling average of any player in the competition with more than seven scalps.

He also scored 181 runs in the JLT Cup at an average in excess of 90.

The Test all-rounder has been a contentious position for far too long now. Now is the time to settle it once and for all.

Mitchell Marsh proved invaluable on the 2015 Ashes tour.

MITCHELL MARSH - Joe Barton

Marcus Stoinis is great and all – but I think people have been far too quick to write Mitchell Marsh off when it comes to an Ashes touring spot.

And perhaps to date Marsh hasn’t delivered a Test career that many hoped from him.

But he still deserves favouritism when it comes to winning the all-rounder spot in Justin Langer’s squad.

Marcus Stoinis is a wonderful cricketer – and is especially damaging in white-ball cricket – but his first-class record doesn’t outshine that of Marsh who, at 27, already has two Test centuries and 35 wickets to his name.

Stoinis has no experience at Test level and while his batting at first-class level is comparable to that of Marsh, the 29-year-old gets blown out of the water when the red ball is in their hands.

And let’s be clear on one thing: red ball stats will always be a better indicator for Test cricket than the Big Bash.

And in first-class cricket Stoinis’ wickets cost more than 42 runs apiece - 10 more than Marsh.

Marsh’s stump-to-stump style has been used to great effect over the past three years as a relief bowler who can tie up an end and dry up the runflow.

In England, bowlers who excel are those who can make the most of conditions and get the ball to move either in the air or off the pitch – and Marsh has proven he can do just that.

In the failed 2015 Ashes, Marsh mastered the conditions in the three Tests he played to finish with eight wickets at an average of 18.63.

We’re talking about a 27-year-old who last year was named vice-captain - he is held in very high regard.

After missing the first Shield return with an unfortunate injury, Marsh stumbled in in his first-class return on a spicy deck where batsmen struggled throughout. But it’ll only take one eye-catching knock to put Marsh firmly back at the front of selectors’ minds.