West Australian Shaun Marsh can expect to receive plenty of love when he returns to domestic ranks for next week’s Sheffield Shield clash with Queensland at the Gabba, starting on Monday.
Marsh’s international career hangs in the balance after his disastrous form with the bat during the Test series against India also resulted in his axing from Australia’s one-day squad.
Selectors, with an eye towards the upcoming Test and one-day tour of the Caribbean, are keen for Marsh to regain form via the Sheffield Shield.
Marsh remains bitterly disappointed over his one-day axing, but Warriors vice-captain Adam Voges said he and his West Australian team-mates would be quick to give the talented 28-year-old their support over the coming days.
“We’ll give him a few hugs when we see him in Brisbane this week,” Voges said of Marsh, who missed out on selection in Wednesday’s Twenty20 win over India.
“As Mickey Arthur’s mentioned, he’s a class player and I’ve got no doubt he will be back in the Australian set-up before long.
“He’s too good a player not to be playing for Australia, so hopefully we see him back in the national team sooner rather than later.
“In the meantime, it’s our game for WA and I’m sure he’ll be looking to score as many runs for WA as possible and hopefully he can help us win games as well.”
The Warriors (20 points) sit second on the Shield table but face an uphill battle to knock off ladder-leading Queensland (30 points), who thrashed WA by 192 runs when they met earlier in the season at the WACA Ground.
“There’s no denying that Queensland have been the best Shield team in the competition without doubt this season,” Voges said.
“They well and truly gave us a hiding here and we’ve certainly got something to prove against them when we get over to Brisbane.
“In terms of our season it’s a huge game.”
Along with Shaun Marsh, WA will be bolstered by the presence of Mitch Marsh and Marcus North, who missed the Warriors’ last Shield hit-out due to a back injury but returns for his 100th first-class fixture.
Voges said although he enjoyed his time with the Melbourne Stars in the T20 Big Bash, he was happy to be back in Perth.