Brisbane, 26 November 2025:
Mitchell Marsh is firming as a potential late-series inclusion for Australia as selectors consider adding more attacking batting options in response to England’s pace-heavy assault in Perth.
Australia will name their squad for the Gabba Test later this week and Marsh remains part of discussions for the latter stages of the Ashes regardless of whether he joins the group in Brisbane, according to a person familiar with internal deliberations.
If not selected for the opening home Test, Marsh is expected to turn out for Western Australia against Victoria at the MCG in the final Sheffield Shield round before the Big Bash League. It would be his first Shield appearance since early last summer, when he began the India series before being replaced by Beau Webster.
Selection chair George Bailey joked during the Perth Test that picking Marsh would be “tricky” if he were “six beers deep by the time the first ball is bowled,” but Bailey also indicated the all-rounder remained firmly in the frame for later Tests. Marsh’s overall Test record is modest, but he has excelled in Ashes contests, scoring 659 runs at 47.07 with three hundreds and a strike rate near 60.
“He’s got a game that could provide an injection, a different look,” Bailey said. “It’s not how we’ll start the series, but we’ll see what it looks like later.”
England’s high-velocity pace attack—led by Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Brydon Carse and Gus Atkinson, left an impression on Australia, even as Travis Head’s second-innings heroics secured an eight-wicket win inside two days. Marsh’s aggressive play against fast, short bowling has therefore gained new relevance.
Josh Inglis, fresh off a century for Australia A against the England Lions at Lilac Hill, is also being considered. England arrived in Brisbane on Wednesday, with captain Ben Stokes and Joe Root signaling confidence ahead of the Gabba Test.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said England’s batting approach under “Bazball” is unlikely to change in time for conditions in Brisbane. England lasted only 67 overs across two innings in Perth, with dismissals of Ollie Pope, Harry Brook and Root highlighting an over-reliance on expansive drives on a bouncy surface.
“I don’t think they can change, and I don’t think they’ll be allowed to,” Ponting told Sydney Morning Herald. “They’ve played this way for years. If there was ever a time to adjust, it was the last couple of days. Some of those shots just don’t work in Perth.”
Ponting warned that the Gabba’s bounce and humidity-assisted swing could expose similar flaws, predicting England may “go even harder” in Brisbane.
Despite limited pink-ball experience and concerns about their batting durability, England’s top six declined to play against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra this weekend. Instead, they’ll add extra floodlit training sessions before next Thursday’s day-night Test.
Ponting said England may already have missed their best chance, noting Pat Cummins is on track to return.
“With Boland taking the new ball and Doggett on debut, if they got through Starc early it would’ve been easier than what it’ll be in Brisbane,” he said. “If Cummins comes back, it only gets harder.”
