Rod Marsh�s prescription for Aussie batsmen

AGENCIES, LONDON: Rod Marsh wore the bewildered look of a man who caught the wrong plane and wound up in a war zone rather than a beach resort. Australia’s Ashes campaign fell to pieces before hordes of delirious Englishmen in Birmingham and Nottingham, leaving the survivors to sort through the wreckage in the relative solitude of Northampton.
As chairman of selectors, Marsh is bearing the brunt of much of the criticism. The coach Darren Lehmann has already conceded a selection error in the omission of an allrounder from the Trent Bridge XI, while also pointing towards Pat Howard for preferring a single squad be picked for dual tours of the West Indies and England.
For his part, Marsh has also admitted that the decision to leave out Peter Siddle in conditions ideal for his seam and swing looks wrongheaded in hindsight, though stating that after Lord’s it looked impossible to drop any one of Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood or Mitchell Starc.
“That’s probably the hardest selection I’ve been involved in, that last Test match,” he said, “because I thought there were three or four options, every one of which could have been fantastic and every one of which could have been poor. That was just the way it was. Had we won the toss we might not be even talking about it right now.
“There was no way known I was going to make up my mind until I saw the pitch on the final morning. I’d consulted all the right people - friends that had played here, guys that I knew very, very well - and they wouldn’t give me a bum steer. The message that I got was that if you can get through the first three hours it becomes a belter of a pitch to bat on - if the sun comes out. Well, the sun was supposed to come out...
“I’m assuming Michael would have bowled but, gee, I would have been inclined to bat first on that. In a lot of ways that’s how it should be in Test cricket, where you don’t know if you’re going to bat first or bowl first . . . those are the pitches you want in Test match cricket. That one behaved a little differently because, I think, we had atmospheric conditions more than anything, particularly that first 20 minutes of the game. My god, it was like a sea fret . . . it was moist out there.”
“If you have a look at our first innings batting it’s been deplorable, it’s all you can say,” Marsh said. “Guys have let themselves down. We’ve got to take some blame for us but how do you see that, how do you see some of the best batsmen in the world make no runs in the first innings of four Test matches basically. It just staggered me.
“Our blokes scored more runs than their top order, but our middle order scored no runs and that was the big differential - we just didn’t score any runs in the middle. If I had my time again, to sit down and choose the batsmen to come to England it would have been exactly the same. I just couldn’t think of anyone else who could have done the job.
“We picked blokes with experience in these conditions, we picked blokes that we thought would get runs obviously. You’ve got to be held accountable — fine, I agree with that. But I’m just racking my brain to try and think of who else we could have picked. If you blokes want to come up with some suggestions, I can probably explain why we didn’t pick them. No selection panel can work harder than we worked, and we will continue to work. There’s not much you can do about it really.”
“I think the game of cricket is about being accountable for yourself,” Marsh said. “Everyone says it’s a team game and there’s no doubt about that, but batting in particular you can be quite selfish as a batsman and still be a good team person. Being selfish as a batsman seems to me to be not wanting to get out and wanting to occupy the crease longer than anyone else in your team, and those things count in Test match cricket.
“I think our blokes have got to be more selfish. They’ve got to say ‘righto, no one’s getting me out and I don’t care if it takes me all day to make a hundred’. You’re allowed to bat all day, and I think our longest partnership in that game was something like 18 overs - that’s appalling in a Test match, I don’t care what you’re playing on. You should be better than that, and I’m sure all the batsmen are feeling exactly the same.”

Rod Marsh�s prescription for Aussie batsmen

AGENCIES, LONDON: Rod Marsh wore the bewildered look of a man who caught the wrong plane and wound up in a war zone rather than a beach resort. Australias Ashes campaign fell to pieces before hordes of delirious Englishmen in Birmingham and Nottingham, leaving the survivors to sort through the wreckage in the relative solitude of Northampton. As chairman of selectors, Marsh is bearing the brunt of much of the criticism. The coach Darren Lehmann has already conceded a selection error in the omission of an allrounder from the Trent Bridge XI, while also pointing towards Pat Howard for preferring a single squad be picked for dual tours of the West Indies and England. For his part, Marsh has also admitted that the decision to leave out Peter Siddle in conditions ideal for his seam and swing looks wrongheaded in hindsight, though stating that after Lords it looked impossible to drop any one of Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood or Mitchell Starc. Thats probably the hardest selection Ive been involved in, that last Test match, he said, because I thought there were three or four options, every one of which could have been fantastic and every one of which could have been poor. That was just the way it was. Had we won the toss we might not be even talking about it right now. There was no way known I was going to make up my mind until I saw the pitch on the final morning. Id consulted all the right people - friends that had played here, guys that I knew very, very well - and they wouldnt give me a bum steer. The message that I got was that if you can get through the first three hours it becomes a belter of a pitch to bat on - if the sun comes out. Well, the sun was supposed to come out... Im assuming Michael would have bowled but, gee, I would have been inclined to bat first on that. In a lot of ways thats how it should be in Test cricket, where you dont know if youre going to bat first or bowl first . . . those are the pitches you want in Test match cricket. That one behaved a little differently because, I think, we had atmospheric conditions more than anything, particularly that first 20 minutes of the game. My god, it was like a sea fret . . . it was moist out there. If you have a look at our first innings batting its been deplorable, its all you can say, Marsh said. Guys have let themselves down. Weve got to take some blame for us but how do you see that, how do you see some of the best batsmen in the world make no runs in the first innings of four Test matches basically. It just staggered me. Our blokes scored more runs than their top order, but our middle order scored no runs and that was the big differential - we just didnt score any runs in the middle. If I had my time again, to sit down and choose the batsmen to come to England it would have been exactly the same. I just couldnt think of anyone else who could have done the job. We picked blokes with experience in these conditions, we picked blokes that we thought would get runs obviously. Youve got to be held accountable fine, I agree with that. But Im just racking my brain to try and think of who else we could have picked. If you blokes want to come up with some suggestions, I can probably explain why we didnt pick them. No selection panel can work harder than we worked, and we will continue to work. Theres not much you can do about it really. I think the game of cricket is about being accountable for yourself, Marsh said. Everyone says its a team game and theres no doubt about that, but batting in particular you can be quite selfish as a batsman and still be a good team person. Being selfish as a batsman seems to me to be not wanting to get out and wanting to occupy the crease longer than anyone else in your team, and those things count in Test match cricket. I think our blokes have got to be more selfish. Theyve got to say righto, no ones getting me out and I dont care if it takes me all day to make a hundred. Youre allowed to bat all day, and I think our longest partnership in that game was something like 18 overs - thats appalling in a Test match, I dont care what youre playing on. You should be better than that, and Im sure all the batsmen are feeling exactly the same.