Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh previews their crucial ICC T20 World Cup group stage clash with England
Kensington Oval, Barbados, West Indies
Kensington Oval, Barbados, West Indies
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00:00 Mitch, have you got a team for tomorrow?
00:03 Not yet, no.
00:05 Just yeah, thank you.
00:07 Pat Cummins left out of that first game.
00:10 What were the reasons behind that and is he back in contention for tomorrow?
00:13 Yeah, I dare say Paddy will be back in.
00:15 He's played a lot of cricket, had a long travel and we wanted to make sure he was cherry right
00:23 for this game.
00:24 So yeah, as simple as that.
00:26 How's Mitch Stark?
00:27 Stark is all good.
00:28 Just a bit of cramp from the other night.
00:30 So as I said, there was no unnecessary risk taken and he's fit.
00:36 Just the start you guys had with the bat, the things you kind of learnt from a bit of
00:40 a rusty start?
00:41 Anything I learnt.
00:42 You and the team, top order.
00:47 I think we certainly know the conditions that we're going to be faced with throughout the
00:49 tournament now.
00:50 So one of the key things we've spoken about is just trusting ourselves and you know, first
00:57 game of the World Cup, maybe a bit of nerves.
01:00 But yeah, nice to get the win and yeah, looking forward to tomorrow.
01:05 Mitchell, just in terms of the conditions and what you do expect to face, how does that
01:11 kind of shape your thinking with how you might line up through the tournament?
01:15 You know, you've commonly gone with three quicks.
01:18 Is that sort of what you're favouring or do the conditions perhaps make you think about
01:24 two spinners?
01:25 Yeah, I think with the 15 we've got, we've got a lot of options with our team that we
01:30 can pick and it will just be conditions based and we're certainly not set on anything.
01:37 Just we want to pick the right team for winning a certain match and then go from there.
01:45 And in terms of the wicket that you've got out there, what do you expect the danger will
01:50 be facing Mark Wood and Joffra Archer?
01:53 What kind of threat can they pose on that pitch?
01:57 Well, they bowl 150 k's an hour, so that's always a threat.
02:01 Yeah, they're two quality bowlers and yeah, looking forward to that challenge.
02:10 Mitchell, you guys are chasing a hat-trick of ICC titles.
02:15 Does success breed success and do you draw confidence from the fact that you've already
02:20 got two in the bag?
02:21 Does that allow you to be a bit more relaxed out there almost?
02:25 I don't think so, no.
02:29 I think I've spoken about it a few times, but I think one of the key elements of our
02:32 success over the last period of time is our ability to stay present in high pressure situations,
02:37 but also where we are now at the start of a World Cup and tomorrow's about beating England
02:42 and moving on from that.
02:44 The carrot's there for every team at the moment to win this World Cup and I feel very lucky
02:50 to have been a part of some successful teams over the last 18 months, but this is a fresh
02:55 start in foreign conditions and I guess we're just really looking forward to that challenge
03:00 of seeing how far we can go.
03:02 Are you learning stuff about yourself as captain?
03:05 Have you surprised yourself as what kind of a captain you are?
03:08 I don't think so.
03:10 No, it's been very enjoyable so far.
03:13 We've got a great group, very experienced and they all prepare so well.
03:20 I don't want to say easy, but I feel very lucky to have the people in our team and our
03:26 coaching staff to support me in the role.
03:31 Just on the captaincy and your start to it, has anything taken you by surprise or been
03:37 a bit different about captaining here at a World Cup that you might not have realised?
03:43 You've got to do a lot more media, which Paddy warned me about, and answer a few more questions.
03:51 But no, not really.
03:52 I certainly, you know, I've captained a few series before this World Cup and I think there's
03:59 just a lot of external pressures in the World Cup, but within our team we try and keep it
04:07 really relaxed and hopefully the boys feel that environment as well.
04:12 First time captaining against England, has there been any talk about the extra noise
04:19 and also on the field, the way that that rivalry plays out that you're going to be sort of
04:24 responsible for dealing with?
04:26 It's a good question.
04:29 I think in a World Cup it's potentially a little bit different.
04:34 We play them once, tomorrow's an important game for us to win and then we'll move on
04:38 to our next opponent.
04:41 There's no doubt on the field there's rivalry between Australia and England.
04:44 It's always an exciting game and it's a great game to be a part of, but I guess with the
04:50 one-off vibe it's sort of today's build-up and then we move on to the next game.
04:55 But we're certainly very excited for tomorrow.
04:57 And can I just ask about Nathan Ellis, what he is actually bringing to the side?
05:04 And you said that Pat obviously coming back in, but does there come a point where you
05:13 might leave him out for Ellis not just to rest him?
05:17 Or how does that play around those quicks there?
05:22 Well, Nel brings us a lot of variety with the way he bowls.
05:27 He's a great death option.
05:28 But I think as we spoke about before, we've got a squad of 15 here and a lot of bowling
05:33 options that we can go to.
05:35 So whether it's three quicks, two spin, we've got to mull over that over the next few hours
05:40 and come up with a team.
05:45 Mitch, you've had some pretty big performances against England.
05:50 You talked about the rivalry there, but what is it on a personal level, what's it like
05:55 for you, that sort of intensity?
05:57 You seem to come out pretty well from it usually.
06:01 I think you get that excitement tomorrow.
06:05 I do say this will be full and it will be mostly English fans.
06:09 So it will be like playing at Hedonley all over or anywhere in England where you get
06:15 sprayed.
06:18 But just the atmosphere, the vibe of the game, there's always a lot riding on it.
06:23 I think as a team we always want to challenge ourselves against the best.
06:26 England have been exceptional in this format for a long period of time now.
06:30 So there's certainly going to be a lot on the game and we're pumped.
06:34 You talk about uniting these trophies, all three of them.
06:37 I guess you could have done that in 2022 if you'd have had the thing there.
06:41 How annoying was it to watch England lift a trophy at Melbourne?
06:44 I'm not sure annoying is the right word.
06:49 What's the right word?
06:52 Look, any team that wins it when you're not, it's always hard to watch.
07:00 But I think if you look back at that World Cup, they were the best team throughout the
07:03 whole tournament and they deserved it.
07:05 So we start fresh again here and hopefully it's us, not them.
07:12 Mitch, Maxi didn't have the greatest IPL by his standards and then started with a golden
07:18 the other day, although he fell to a great catch.
07:21 What is it about his exploits that make you feel like he can come out and win the match
07:26 for Australia?
07:27 Can you just speak to his preparation as well?
07:30 I think it's exactly that.
07:33 We know that Maxi's going to win his games.
07:36 There's going to be ups and downs with everyone in the team in this format.
07:43 When you take the game on, which is what we want guys to do, we want guys to trust their
07:48 ability and Maxi's vitally important for us.
07:52 He bats, bowls and he's an exceptional fielder and he's a good leader within our team.
07:55 So for me, it's always a no-brainer.
08:00 Mitch, David Warner's the one survivor from the 2010 final here.
08:04 I think I'm right in saying that he's retiring from international cricket after this tournament.
08:08 Can you just talk about how you see his role?
08:12 It's kind of evolved over the years, hasn't it?
08:13 He's obviously started out as the kind of the ball charging out and then these days
08:16 he's probably, as we saw the other night, probably a bit more of a glue in the side.
08:21 Yeah I think one of the things that sets Davey apart and why he's become one of the best
08:28 ever to do it, certainly in the white ball format, is just his adaptability and his ability
08:33 to read the game.
08:34 The other night he sort of knew that he had to bat through with Stoyne and we talk about
08:41 that a lot, you know, the adaptability that we're going to need if the wickets are a little
08:45 trickier than what we perhaps are used to around the world.
08:50 So I guess it's just leaning on his experience in that period of time and he was fantastic
08:54 that night.
08:58 They tell me, Barber, this is a bucket list location for cricketers.
09:03 Is it so for you and what's been so special that you've seen so far?
09:07 And a couple of years ago, as Captain Michael Clarke said, cricket in the West Indies, one
09:12 bad hour can cause you to match.
09:16 One bad hour can cause you to match in the West Indies near to the surfaces.
09:21 Is that a view you share?
09:22 Well in a T20 it'd be one bad hour probably.
09:23 It'd be a long hour if you have a bad hour in a T20.
09:28 Is that a view that you share?
09:30 I mean you can lose it quickly, it can get away from you quickly in the West Indies?
09:34 Yeah, well your first question, Barbados is a beautiful part of the world.
09:40 Cuzz's Fish Shop I think it's called, near our hotel, best fish cutter on the island.
09:44 I've had about 20 of those.
09:47 And it's a special place.
09:48 There's a lot of history in this place when it comes to cricket.
09:51 So we all love coming here.
09:54 The second part of your question, I think if we have lower scores like we've seen throughout
09:59 the World Cup so far, the margins become smaller so it maybe is one over, two overs here and
10:05 there that can win you and lose you games of cricket and we all understand that.
10:10 And I guess that's why it's exciting.
10:15 I think that's it, unless there's a final question from someone.
10:20 [BLANK_AUDIO]