The Ashes: Former national selector Greg Chappell backs West Australian Mitch Marsh to open against England

Former national selector and Australian cricket great Greg Chappell has added weight to rumours West Australian Mitch Marsh is in the frame to open against England in Perth. Reports emerged this week Australia are considering a wildcard as they struggle to fill the void left by David Warner as the country’s Test match opener. And Marsh has been in imperious white-ball form ahead of the Ashes, tormenting India in one-day international and T20 series. Head coach Andrew McDonald says the Aussies have no problem with selecting a player for Test cricket based on limited-overs form and added they didn’t believe Marsh’s red-ball career was over after being dropped towards the end of last summer. Now Chappell, who served as a selector during the 1980s and then again in 2010, has emphatically backed Marsh to fight fire with fire in Perth, suggesting he is the best man to take down England’s spearheads Mark Wood and Jofra Archer at Optus Stadium. “In the context of Perth’s challenging conditions, the choice of opener to partner Usman Khawaja assumes critical importance – not only for tactical reasons but for also for the purpose of establishing a psychological foundation,” he wrote in a column for the Sydney Morning Herald. “Mitchell Marsh’s record against Wood is excellent. He can counter-attack and pulverise like few others and is one of the best players of pace in the country. “He would be taking on the family firm established by his father and continued by his older brother Shaun. In fact, there is only one problem: he would have to change his mind, as he turned it down the last time he was asked. He is my first-choice opener in Perth.” Marsh himself has done everything he can to wave off questions about playing in the Ashes, including telling media he would be “six beers deep” by lunch watching from the stands. But, as Chappell points out, the options to bat alongside Khawaja, who is also potentially playing his last home summer, are slim. “Sam Konstas’ treatment since his Test debut last year has been quixotic. I believe that it takes an individual up to 10 Tests, at least, to work out how to succeed at that level. The decision to not pick Konstas in Sri Lanka was bewildering, so he is not in the frame,” he wrote. “Matt Renshaw has begun the domestic season in imperious form, and the selectors might be swayed towards the safe hands of the two Queenslanders – Usman Khawaja being the other. The two are domestic opening partners, and their established synergy has the hallmark of the best Ashes opening pairs. “The odds are in Renshaw’s favour as he combines well with his state teammate and offers a more assured option, having made 14 Test appearances which include a century and three 50s. “Jake Weatherald from Tasmania is a gifted player and a viable alternative. His early career in South Australia was blighted by inconsistency so, without exceptional pre-selection form, introducing him risks exposure to overwhelming pressure.” The other option being floated for the Ashes includes Marnus Labuschagne taking the opening position after he hit four centuries in five knocks to open the domestic summer, having lost his place in the Test squad for the West Indies tour. However, Chappell dismissed the idea that would also then force West Australian Cam Green to bat at three with Beau Webster at six. “I believe Marnus Labuschagne should bat at three, as that is his specialist spot from where he has delivered prolifically. The fact he is being considered as an opener does not make sense,” he wrote. “Ian Chappell and Ricky Ponting were exceptional No.3s for Australia. That doesn’t mean that they would have been as successful had they been press-ganged into opening. They were often batting early in the innings, but the mindset required to walk out and open an innings is subtly different.”