Ashes 2015: Adam Voges and Mitchell Marsh tread same road back to Australia team

ADAM Voges and Mitchell Marsh both have different stories to tell as they stand on the verge of playing in an Ashes opener in Cardiff starting on Wednesday.

CHELMSFORD, ENGLAND - JUlY 03: Adam Voges and Mitchell Marsh of Australia pose for a photo during day three of the tour match between Essex and Australia at The Ford County Ground on July 03, 2015 in Chelmsford, England. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Adam Voges; Mitchell Marsh. The black armbands being worn by the players are in tribute to Adelaide Crows Coach Phil Walsh who was murdered on Friday.

ADAM Voges and Mitchell Marsh both have different stories to tell as they stand on the verge of playing in an Ashes opener in Cardiff starting on Wednesday.

But in a sense, the West Australian duo’s journeys to this landmark moment began at the same time exactly two years ago — on Australia’s ill-fated Champions Trophy campaign in England.

With David Warner stood down for his Joe Root punch, Australia’s tournament spiralled out of control and ultimately cost coach Mickey Arthur his job.

Voges, at 33-years-old, was soon phased out of the one-day program despite top scoring at the Champions Trophy and boasting an ODI average of 45.78 — as Australia bit the bullet and opted for a clean-out 18 months out from a World Cup.

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Marsh on the other hand was very much part of the future, however the young buck with a string of off-field incidents had to smarten up fast after being caught up in the Warner fiasco as one of the other Australian players who broke curfew that night.

The two WA teammates, 12 years apart, a middle-order batsman and a booming all-rounder, have arrived on the doorstep of a first Ashes Test due to old fashioned hard yakka.

Despite no apparent prospect of playing international cricket again, Voges went back to the drawing board and made 1358 runs in a Shield season, featuring six hundreds and five 50s and won himself a Test debut in the West Indies, where he made a stunning first-up century.

Not bad for a bloke who started in the academy alongside Michael Clarke all those years ago as a left-arm Chinaman who could bat a bit.

Now Clarke says Voges’ innate ability to make things work for him as him primed for a massive Ashes.

“V has been a great player. He’s found a way, whether it be bowling Chinaman as a young kid or then playing a lot with our one-day side as a middle-order batter, left-arm orthodox. He’s found a way to have success,” said Clarke.

Western Australia and Test teammates Adam Voges and Mitchell Marsh.

“He’s a great guy to have around the group. His experience is going to be vital over here in these conditions, which he knows so well.

“He’s in great form and he gives us that real stability in the middle order. I think you’ll see him have a wonderful series.”

Marsh got things properly on track last year when he forced his way into the Test side for a debut against Pakistan in the UAE.

But after losing out on a place in the sudden-death matches of Australia’s World Cup surge, Marsh has taken his dedication to another level again.

Clarke says Marsh has leaned up and is ready to seize his opportunity if it’s handed to him — after blasting back-to-back centuries in Australia’s tour matches to heap pressure on incumbent Shane Watson.

“He’s a young player, he’s extremely talented as we’ve seen,” said Clarke.

“What I’m most proud of him for is for grabbing his opportunity, to score runs and take wickets and fight to be on the selectors’ minds.

“Mitch has worked extremely hard up at the NCC (national cricket centre) before he went to the West Indies.

“I was up there for a couple of weeks and trained with him.

“He’s lost weight, he’s fit, he’s strong and he’s playing some really good cricket.

“They both have unbelievable strengths (Marsh and Watson), who knows? Maybe the selectors will find a way of getting them both in.”

Originally published as Ashes 2015: Adam Voges and Mitchell Marsh tread same road back to Australia team