Report from Trinidad and Tobago

“Most of Australia hate me.”

Nearly five years ago, having taken his maiden Test five-wicket haul in the fifth Ashes Test of 2019, Mitchell Marsh’s dry quip in a media conference when asked about his relationship with the country’s cricket-loving public spoke volumes.

An all-rounder with immense talent but frustratingly limited returns at Test level, Marsh was derided for at one point having the lowest batting average of any long-term number six in Test history; it was that lack of runs which cost him his spot, as vice-captain, in late 2018 as the team rebuilt from that March’s ‘Sandpapergate’ saga.

Even those heroics at The Oval all those years ago would prove short-lived: it would be another four years before Marsh was selected for another Test, though in between his white-ball stocks continued to rise, most famously with his player of the match performance in Australia’s 2021 T20 World Cup triumph.

That next Test was at Headingley in 2023, when Marsh was recalled for the injured Cameron Green and promptly walloped a century so spectacular it forced one of Australian cricket’s greatest ever prodigies to wait his turn until another spot opened up following the retirement of David Warner to get back in.

Fast forward to 2024, and the Western Australian’s world has turned more dramatically than even he could possibly have imagined: from a triumphant summer capped by a shock Allan Border Medal to become one of the prestigious award’s most popular winners ever; through to being captain in his own right of the T20 team heading into the World Cup.

Ever humble, Marsh is quick to praise others for making the transition into permanent captaincy a smooth one: from his familiarity with his teammates, many of whom like him are all-format players, to the presence of Test captain Pat Cummins alongside him in the first-choice XI.

“Being really comfortable with who I am as a person, and learning a bit over the journey about leadership from other people around me, particularly Patty [is the key,” Marsh said on a Trinidad beach days out from the World Cup – a venue to match the character if ever there was one.

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“One of the key things is staying true to yourself as a person, and the experience we’ve got, the relationships I have with this group, it’s a really easy group to lead. We’re going to have fun.

“I’m very lucky to have someone like Patty by my side as a leader within this group. We’ve got so many great leaders and experience that we all lean on each other. Patty’s a great friend.

“Going back to the Under-19 World Cup with Adam Zampa and Josh Hazlewood, that’s 14-15 years ago now – we’ve got a wealth of experience in playing a lot of cricket together, and I think that’s been a hallmark of our success over the last little period of time.”

It’s far from Marsh’s first brush with captaincy – he’s a long-term skipper in Western Australian cricket, from the Sheffield Shield to the BBL’s Perth Scorchers, and has stepped in to lead Australia in the past.

But the story he tells of his first attempt to claim a leadership position for the national team is classic Marsh: an amusing tale that likewise speaks volumes of the regard with which many in Australian cricket held him.

“I applied for a vice-captain’s role many years ago, and during my speech to the board Greg Chappell fell asleep,” Marsh laughed.

“So that went beautifully!”

Few cricketers around Australia speak ill of their fellows, but there’s still something about the way Marsh’s teammates react whenever his name enters the conversation: Ashton Agar, a long-term Marsh teammate for WA and the Perth Scorchers as well as in the national limited-overs teams, smiles wryly when asked to describe his captaincy, while Nathan Ellis positively beams when the question of whether the role has changed him in the slightest is brought up.

“Mitch is himself, and I think that’s what people really like. There’s no garbage about him at all,” is Agar’s summation of his close friend.

“He is confident in who he is, he’s confident in his ability now and his competency as a captain, his tactical nous. And he’s done really well in the games he’s captained so far.

“He’s just the life of the team: the boys love him, he provides a nice, calm environment where people are allowed to be themselves and have fun. I think that’s all you can ask for.”

Ellis’ review is equally glowing, having been, in his own words, taken ‘under the wing’ of the burly all-rounder through his fledgling international career.

“Mitch has been really amazing for me,” he said.

“He’s a great guy, he’s well beloved in the Australian team. He’s got 14 blokes in the squad who’d run through a wall for him.”

Marsh is the perfect captain for this new era in Australian cricket, with the departure of Justin Langer as coach in early 2022 see all teams take a more relaxed and accommodating attitude towards both themselves and their individual preparation, the success of which is manifest in that a tournament triumph in the Caribbean would make this the first ever team to be T20 and ODI World Cup as well as World Test Championship title holders at once.

To do so would cement Marsh’s newfound legacy as one of Australian cricket’s mot beloved figures, and complete an arc that began in that press conference in September 2019.

“It’s been an incredible few years,” Marsh said of his stunning 12 months across all formats.

“I think playing in this Australian team certainly helps. I’ve had a lot of fun and I’m very grateful for the support I’ve received over the last little period of time.”