Marsh ‘will definitely’ bowl but Marnus’ mediums may also get a call

On the eve of the first Test, as he went about various media duties, Australia captain Pat Cummins appeared extremely relaxed and seemingly sported a permanent smile.

He seems to have good reason to feel at ease. While much of the focus ahead of the series has been on the uncertainty over India’s line-up, Australia’s XI has been settled ever since uncapped Nathan McSweeney won the race to partner Usman Khawaja at the top of the order.

It’s an experienced group of players and they are relatively refreshed with a lot of forward planning having been made in a bid to get them through a gruelling five-match series played within seven weeks.

But if there has been a cause for concern, it’s the fitness of allrounder Mitchell Marsh who has only bowled four overs since tearing his hamstring during the IPL.

All of those overs were in the fourth ODI against England at Lord’s in September. He then pulled up sore and missed the subsequent match before playing as a specialist batter for Western Australia in two Sheffield Shield matches in October.

Marsh had publicly declared ahead of the second Shield match, against Tasmania, that he would return to bowling but his body was not quite ready. His role with the ball has grown in significance for Australia with Cameron Green missing the entire series due to a stress fracture of his back.

Having become a father a day earlier, his wife Greta giving birth to their first child, Marsh on Monday pushed through weariness and built up his bowling loads in a lengthy centre wicket session as Australia started their first Test preparations. There were no signs of discomfort as Marsh powered through the crease and he also impressed during Australia’s training session on Wednesday.

“He will definitely bowl this Test. He is an allrounder and with the way us four bowlers set out, we never really budget around an allrounder bowling heaps,” Cummins said.

Marsh, however, is unlikely to be able to cover Green’s workload. He was used sparingly during the seven Tests last summer where he never bowled more than nine overs in an innings.

Marsh, 33, is set to be utilised across a couple of short spells, possibly relatively early in the innings given his ability to produce outswing and also around the 60-70 over mark with the old ball.

“We never put an upper limit [on overs] on anyone,” Cummins said. “But he’s ready to go and happy to bowl as much as we need. I would imagine a few spells each innings. He’s been bowling great this week, his body is the best it has been for a while.”

Along with Marsh and Travis Head’s handy offspin, Cummins might also revert to Marnus Labuschagne, who has emerged as an unlikely seam bowling option after lengthy stints in the Shield caught many observers by surprise. He has almost exclusively bowled seam rather than legspin, which has yielded him some success previously at Test level.

Having taken the captaincy reins of Queensland, Labuschagne has utilised himself with the ball and took 2 for 5 from 6.2 overs in the season opener against Western Australia at the WACA. He then bowled 27 overs across the match against South Australia at Allan Border Field.

His bowling has been marked by short-ball aggression, which he has also unfurled during Australia’s training sessions ahead of the first Test, providing a potential tactic for Cummins to utilise.

“He’s always trying to impress the ball, which is great,” Cummins said. “He loves bowling. He’s one of those guys, as we know, who always wants to be involved. He’s bowled some handy overs for Queensland. Obviously, he’s got legspin, a bit of offspin in the past and then this year, it’s been on to pace bowling.

“I’m sure he’ll get the ball at some stage and bowl quite a few bouncers as well. So that’s maybe something we’ll turn to at some point as well.”

While there is intrigue over Australia’s back-up bowlers, a refreshed Cummins and his frontline attack are hoping to mostly shoulder the workload. He will enter the series having not played red-ball cricket since March in New Zealand.

Cummins was earmarked to play a Shield match for New South Wales, but has instead played one domestic 50-over game and two ODIs against Pakistan.

“I feel great. Couldn’t have asked for a better lead in, so hopefully it translates into a good summer,” he said. “I’ve been really lucky to have four or five months off to build up, get strong. I feel as strong and as fresh and as fit as I have for a long time.”