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Pat Cummins has left the door open for Mitchell Marsh to return to Test cricket as soon as the South Africa series, saying the 34-year-old has not retired from the format. Australia begins a three-Test series in Durban next week.
Pat Cummins has opened the door for Mitchell Marsh to make a comeback to Test cricket as soon as the series in South Africa. The captain believes the white-ball bruiser still has it in him to change red-ball games, like he did at Headingley in the 2023 Ashes.
Cummins said Marsh has not retired from the longest format and could be considered if it made sense for the team. A move back to Marsh would likely raise eyebrows. He last played a Test in December 2024, at a time when Australia is under mounting pressure to start regenerating their ageing group.
Marsh Role Amid Test Regeneration
However, there is also a view within the team that a brutal calendar of Test matches against tough opponents in challenging locations is not a time to be experimenting with youth. While Marnus Labuschagne is the incumbent No.3, it would be plausible for Marsh to occupy that position. Similarly, he could also take on the kind of middle-order enforcer role that Travis Head gave up to go to the top of the order last summer in the Ashes.
Marsh is expected to play in the final ODI against the Proteas in Johannesburg, starting at 9.30pm (AEST) Wednesday. The 34-year-old retired from first-class cricket for Western Australia last summer, but has pointedly not retired from Tests. Marsh has scores of 36, 53, eight, 60 and 84 from five ODIs on this tour, all made quickly. He has been hitting the ball beautifully in white-ball cricket, according to Cummins, who called him destructive and a pretty scary proposition.
The captain said Marsh has not retired, so you never know, ahead of the three-Test series starting in Durban next week. Cummins said Marsh is hitting the ball beautifully in white-ball cricket, is destructive and a pretty scary proposition. If it made sense, he is not retired. Cummins would like him to keep some options open.
The selectors have kept Marsh in their thoughts over the past 12 months. He lost his Test place to Beau Webster in early 2025 at the end of that summer's Border-Gavaskar series against India. At the time, Marsh was battling a series of interrelated physical issues with his back and hamstrings. He has since recovered much of his former mobility and has also trimmed down while playing franchise cricket, most recently in the Hundred in the UK.
Marsh is still considered one of the best players of high pace in Australia. That is a significant consideration given looming assignments against the Proteas and also England next year. Australian coach Andrew McDonald said in October that the team would be comfortable picking someone out of white-ball cricket if it would benefit the Test team, naming Mitch Marsh as an example. Marsh has also contributed in South Africa.
Headingley Innings Remain Key Asset
During the cataclysmic 2018 tour, he made 96 in the first Test in Durban. That was the batting cornerstone of a victory that would be overshadowed by subsequent events. Asked about how Marsh took on the now-retired England speedster Mark Wood at Headingley, Cummins said that was key to the white-ball skipper's value. He is similar to a Trav Head-type player in that he can win a game by himself, Cummins said.
Cummins said Marsh is really good at going against the flow of express pace bowling, or a tough wicket where trying to guts it out might not necessarily work. He can really put the attack back onto the bowlers, and that changes the whole dynamic of a batting order. That is why when Marsh was at his best in Test cricket he did so well. Cummins said he remembers the Headingley innings fondly.
In addition to Marsh's batting ability, he is also considered a strong team man and a unifying personality. He is notably close to Cummins and something of a link between the batting and bowling groups within the squad. Cummins said it feels like they have been ships in the night a little bit on a fair few tours over the last 12 months.
Cummins said Marsh is such an awesome leader, and seeing how well-run the white-ball squads are is down to his leadership. Marsh's stocks as a possible injection to the batting order have also risen via the finger fracture suffered by Josh Inglis. That event may also have some influence on Marnus Labuschagne.
Labuschagne Future And Sample Size
He was retained largely because Cummins and the selectors felt that three innings against Bangladesh were not a big enough sample from which to make up their minds on his future. Cummins said there was a big shift from six months ago to seeing how Labuschagne prepared for the form he was in in that Bangladesh series. It did not pay off in the three innings there, but it is a relatively small sample size.
There were good signs, but Labuschagne does need to score runs, like any other batter in a side. Cummins said it is about not going and chasing something. They know what Labuschagne looks like at his best. Labuschagne does not need to play a thousand shots, and does not need to go chasing something he does not already have.
The other thing is that when he has gone back and played Shield cricket or county cricket, he has been that top-tier run scorer at that level. So the team knows he is good enough. Cummins said it is a big series for Labuschagne. He is picked in the squad, which shows how much the team thinks he is worth to them.
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brisbanetimes:‘Scary proposition’: Cummins opens door for Marsh Test comeback 
theage:‘Scary proposition’: Cummins opens door for Marsh Test comebackThis story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Pat Cummins Australia Test Cricket South Africa Series Marnus Labuschagne
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