Ashes: World Cup hero Mitch Marsh’s golden T20 form may not be enough for a Test recall

The feats of T20 World Cup hero Mitch Marsh may not be enough to get back into the Test team for the Ashes.

World Cup hero Mitch Marsh was among the players who flew into Brisbane on Tuesday morning and he’s set to take his sterling form into a pre-Ashes intra squad clash between an extended squad of Australian players.

But while calls have grown to seize upon Marsh’s golden form and give him a Test recall, national selection chairman George Bailey isn’t so sure playing well in one format means playing well in the other.

There was little fanfare as the new T20 world champions walked through a deserted Brisbane Airport on their way to three days hard quarantine at the same resort as England’s Ashes squad.

They will then be allowed to train as they complete 14 days of quarantine.

And while Bailey is confident Marsh’s best cricket is still ahead of him and he could shine in all three formats for Australia, the selection boss stopped short of declaring his barnstorming efforts to carry Australia to a maiden T20 trophy in Dubai would translate to an Ashes call-up.

Only David Warner scored more runs for Australia at the T20 World Cup than Marsh, and the duo were the only Australian batsman to pass 50 in any of the seven games.

Former Test captain Michael Clarke also believes Marsh is “at his peak” and should be in contention for the No.6 batting spot.

“He’s worked out his style of play, he’s comfortable with it, he’s enjoyed the extra responsibility of batting No.3 in the shortest format, he’s taken over captaincy in Western Australia,” Clarke told the Big Sports Breakfast.

“He’s now ready to play at the highest level.”

Marsh played the “innings of his life”, according to Bailey, as he swatted his first ball against New Zealand for six and carved out a matchwinning 77 off 50 balls.

Bailey conceded there was not a better time to pick a player than when he was in such red-hot form.

Australia's Mitchell Marsh is in red-hot form. Picture: Indranil Mukherjee / AFP

But he also said the T20 format was so different to a Test match and picking Marsh, who played the last of his 32 Tests during the 2019 Ashes, based on limited overs form was not as simple as it looked.

“We joke internally that they are different sports in many respects. There’s not much flow on,” Bailey said on Monday.

“The only thing I would say is you love to see players performing well internationally because you know it gives them great confidence going forward. There’s no better time to pick someone than when they are up and about and consistent.

“We are 12 hours since (Marsh) just played the innings of his life in a T20. It’s important we celebrate the tournament and the role he has played in that team. He’s an Australian hero for a day

“I think the formats are so completely different. We know Mitch is a very good player and he’s played Test cricket in the past, so we know he’s capable of it.

“What I will say about Mitch is that we have full confidence that the next two, three four years are going to be the best cricketing years of his career. Hopefully, we get to see Mitch playing all three formats for Australia.”

Marsh supplants Green in the Test team…no brainer after this imposing, confident show

— jim maxwell (@jimmaxcricket) November 14, 2021

Bailey said the Ashes squad would be revealed soon so players could deal with the “logistics of quarantine”.

“I’ve been working through that for a little whole, it’s getting close,” he said.

But while he welcomes the momentum of the World Cup win, Bailey isn’t sure it will have much meaning in the Ashes.

“There’s enough crossover (of players) that the buoy of winning is something they can take forward,” he said.

“But everyone starts at 0-0 in the Ashes. ”

Mitchell Starc arrives at Brisbane International Airport after the World Cup win in Dubai. Picture: Zak Simmonds