Australia’s chief selector George Bailey confirmed that Mitchell Marsh remained in contention for the 2025-26 Ashes despite recent struggles with injury and form.
Australia’s chief selector, George Bailey, has confirmed that experienced all-rounder Mitchell Marsh remains in their plans for the 2025-26 Ashes series against England. Despite recent setbacks, including a back injury and being dropped after the fourth Test against India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Bailey believes Marsh’s skills could be crucial against England’s pace-heavy attack led by Jofra Archer and Mark Wood.
“I don’t necessarily think that his red-ball career is over as well. I don’t think he was scoring the runs that he would have wanted, or we would have wanted when we left him out of the Test side. But I still think there’s an incredibly exciting skill set there with the bat, the way he can rip a game open,” Bailey said during a virtual press conference after announcing the new contract list.
Marsh, who played one match for Perth Scorchers in the BBL before missing the rest of the domestic season, has returned to competitive cricket as a specialist batter for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025. He has impressed in his first two games, scoring 72 off 36 balls and 52 off 31 as an Impact Substitute.
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“I still think he’s got an incredibly important role to play. He’s had some injury issues, and towards the back end of the summer, he was battling with his back a little bit. It’s an ongoing conversation as to where bowling may or may not fit into his international cricket going forward. At the moment, in the IPL, he’s available only as a batter,” Bailey added.
The 33-year-old, who currently captains Australia’s T20I team, is expected to lead the side in the 2026 T20 World Cup. “He’s still the captain of our T20 team and still think he can play an incredibly important role in setting that team up and hopefully leading that team to some success in the T20 World Cup. I think he’s got plenty of one-day cricket left in him as well, so I still think he’s a really valuable member of the white-ball sides,” Bailey concluded.
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