Cricket fans and administrators are paying tribute to Mitch Marsh after the Aussie veteran announced on Monday night he’s retiring from first-class cricket. The 34-year-old will end his red-ball career at the end of this summer, but will remain playing T20 and ODI cricket for Australia.
Marsh is currently serving as Australia’s white-ball captain in T20 and ODIs. He hasn’t ruled out playing a part in the current Ashes series, with selectors reportedly keen for him to be involved at some stage.
“It has been an honour to play Sheffield Shield cricket for WA,” Marsh said in a statement. “Right now I am deeply committed to the group and the Scorchers. WA cricket has been a huge part of my life and I plan to give back in any way possible long into the future.”
Mitch Marsh is retiring from first-class cricket after 16 years. Image: Getty
WA coach Adam Voges said: “Mitch embodies everything about what it means to be a Sheffield Shield player for Western Australia. From playing alongside him to coaching him in more recent times, he’s given his all for his state.
“It’s been a privilege to watch him progress from Sheffield Shield to being a very successful player at international level for Australia. He’s an outstanding character on and off the field and it’s been a pleasure to play a part in his journey.”
Mitch Marsh made 9 and 4 for Western Australia last week in what could be his last Sheffield Shield game. (Photo by Martin Keep/Getty Images)
Could Mitch Marsh still play in Ashes series?
Marsh has scored 6415 runs at first-class level, averaging 33.06 with 13 centuries and 29 fifties. With the ball he’s taken 171 wickets in 122 matches. He’s played 46 Tests for Australia, scoring 2083 runs at 28.53 and taking 51 wickets.
The former Western Australia captain has only played six Sheffield Shield games in the past six-and-a-half seasons. Last week he scored 9 and 4 in WA’s loss to Victoria, which could be his last game of first-class cricket because the Shield season goes on hiatus during the BBL – where Marsh will captain the Perth Scorchers.
Mitch Marsh (bottom) with Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc after the 2017/18 Ashes series. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
The T20 World Cup will come after that, meaning the only Shield game available to Marsh would potentially be in the last round of the Shield regular season or the final. However it’s not out of the realms of possibility he could play in the Ashes.
Reports emerged earlier this month that selectors are eyeing him for a surprise role in the back-end of the series. Australia coach Andrew McDonald had previously said: “We would be comfortable picking someone, and if you want to put a name to it, Mitch Marsh, out of white-ball cricket if we felt like that was going to benefit the Test team.
“He’s the captain of the white-ball team. It’s very hard for him to vacate and balance out Test preparation, if he was to be in the window for that. We still haven’t given up on Mitch Marsh’s Test career.”
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Cricket world pays tribute to Mitch Marsh
Marsh made his Shield debut for WA in the 2009-10 season. He was picked for his Test debut five years later, and his crowning moment came in the away Ashes series in 2023 when he made 118 at Headingley and went on to win the Allan Border Medal that year.
Fans are paying tribute to Marsh on social media. Once heavy maligned by the Australian cricket public, he changed a lot of people’s minds with his remarkable comeback to the Test team in 2023.