Marsh leaves World Cup camp for personal reasons
Marsh leaves World Cup camp for personal reasons
Australian allrounder flying home to Perth ahead of England clash, with no timeline set for his return
Australia have been hit by the loss of another key allrounder after announcing Mitch Marsh flew home on Wednesday for personal reasons and will be out of the World Cup indefinitely.
After Glenn Maxwell was ruled out of Saturday's clash with England due to a concussion suffered from falling off the back of a golf cart, the Aussies are now scrambling having also lost Marsh to unforeseen circumstances.
It was unclear how long the 32-year-old would be unavailable for and whether a replacement squad player would be required. "A timeline on his return to the squad is to be confirmed," read a Cricket Australia release.
The loss of Marsh and Maxwell is a curveball for an Australian team that has found its groove, with four consecutive wins following back-to-back defeats to begin their tournament.
With two allrounders from their most recent match now out of calculations, Marcus Stoinis looks certain to face England after training strongly on Wednesday evening under lights at Narendra Modi Stadium.
Cameron Green would be the other logical inclusion, with Travis Head set to take on a greater role with the ball to make up Maxwell's spin overs.
Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne seem likely to return to more familiar positions at three and four with Marsh out.
The next decision for Australia over the coming days will be whether Marsh needs to be replaced in their 15-man squad. If they did that, the 32-year-old could not return for the rest of the tournament unless there was another injury.
Leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha is Australia’s only current travelling reserve but he has only seemed likely to play if Adam Zampa were to succumb to one of his several fitness concerns.
Recent debutant Matt Short was also with the World Cup squad early in their campaign as a reserve. He would be a handy inclusion in Maxwell's absence to play England, but might not then be required if the 34-year-old is back as expected for the final two group-stage games.
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