Aussies have high expectations - not hate - for Mitchell Marsh
It’s a sad thought that Mitch Marsh believes most Australians hate him, because they don’t. They just have almost unreasonable expectations, writes ROBERT CRADDOCK.
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Mitch Marsh said today he reckons most of Australia hates him — it’s not true but we know where he is coming from.
Write a story on Marsh and within an hour or two the comments at the bottom of it bristle with that deep-seated resentment that comes with the one thing that drives most sports fans mad. Unfulfilled potential.
On Thursday I wrote a story saying Marsh has given up $3 million in potential Indian Premier League earnings to focus on proving himself in England and within an hour or two there were comments like “that just proves he is a bad accountant as well as a bad cricketer.’’
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Some of the criticism is fair. Some recklessly and ridiculously wide of the mark such as the hundreds of comments on social media over the years suggesting the only reason he gets a game for Australia is that his father Rod was the chairman of selectors — even though they are not related.
The Marsh brothers, Shaun and Mitchell, are fascinating studies because no two cricketers cop more online abuse yet Shaun is a mild-mannered lamb of a guy and Mitchell is well liked for being a genial extrovert.
They are the most non-controversial, controversial cricketers in the game.
Mitchell’s four wicket test haul at The Oval is a small step forward in the long road to proving himself the sustainable Test match package is shadowed by what we might call the curse of the modern all-rounder.
The same sort of criticism that shadows him followed Shane Watson all the way throughout his career.
At one stage Watson had no Twitter account because he knew the instant he got one it would be filled up with abuse.
Even Steve Waugh felt the blow torch early in his career.
He was built up as a multiskilled wonder boy early but when he started failing critics came at him strongly and he found it hard to cope.
The trouble for modern all-rounders is that players like South African great Jacques Kallis ruined it for everybody.
In a truly epic career, the likes of which we may never see again, Kallis averaged 55 with the bat and took 292 wickets at 32 with the ball.
That is what you call walking with the gods. It set a benchmark so high that most rival all-rounders could not leap up and touch the bar he set with their fingertips, never mind clear it.
Looking back at Watson’s career I feel we judged him slightly harshly.
He played 59 Tests an averaged 35 as a batsman and took 75 wickets at 33 with the ball as well as being one of the best white ball cricketers of his era.
These figures are not exceptional but they are very serviceable.
In 52 innings as Test opener Watson averaged 41 — you don’t reckon Australia would take that today?
But we always wanted more. We wanted him to define himself as a frontline batsmen rather than accepting that the sum of his parts was the key equation.
Watson played most of his Tests in the difficult era after Australia’s galaxy of super stars retired and a so-so Test team was often over-straining trying to live up to the impossibly high standards set by the team who preceded them.
All-rounders are like leg-spinners and actors.
The great ones are so incredibly charismatic they become the yardstick by which all others are measured — and found wanting.
People hark back to great all-rounders of the 1980s like Imran Khan, Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Richard Hadlee.
They were freaks in an era before the T20 revolution tugged a player’s attention and sapped their energy levels.
Mitchell Marsh is no Imran Khan or Ian Botham.
The key for him is to trim his numbers to similar to around Watson’s level — a batting average of 35 and a bowling average of 32 — which would make him an important player in a turbulent era.
THIS WEEK IN SPORT
THE GOOD
The movie Ride Like A Girl which showcases Michelle Payne’s Melbourne Cup win on Prince Of Penzance. Great to see an Australian family flick that can inspire people of all ages.
THE BAD
People bagging Melbourne racing clubs for their coup in signing global superstar Taylor Swift for the Melbourne Cup. I love Darryl Braithwaite’s Horses too but 754 times is probably enough.
THE UGLY
The future for West Coast Eagles star Willie Rioli after he was charged with allegedly tampering with a drug sample. He could be facing a four-year ban.
Originally published as Aussies have high expectations - not hate - for Mitchell Marsh