Mitchell Marsh was a fresh-faced 18-year-old when he led his side to their third ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup triumph in 2010.
The all-rounder has since gone on to become a key performer for the Australia Men’s side across formats and has several accolades to his name, including triumphs in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 and ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.
Apart from scoring 201 runs at an average of 33.5, Marsh also led his side with aplomb at the U19 World Cup. Marsh captained future internationals such as Adam Zampa, Nic Maddinson, Josh Hazlewood, and Kane Richardson in the tournament, and remembers with fondness an educational tournament.
“It’s a huge honour to lead your country at any level. Back then as an 18-year-old, it was a great experience,” Marsh said. “I had a wonderful group of men who made captaincy quite easy. Probably the most important thing was we had a lot of fun. We enjoyed ourselves and happened to win a few games along the way.”
It wasn’t all easy for Australia. After starting off with thumping wins against USA and Ireland, they lost their next encounter to South Africa. Australia posted 276/7 in the first innings, but Dominic Hendricks set the foundation for South Africa with a solid 94. And the tail pulled off a close win for the Proteas.
Marsh remembers the tough start at a scenic venue. “Our round games were in Queenstown, which is one of the most beautiful places in the world to play cricket,” he said. “We didn’t have it easy, we lost to South Africa in our pool game.
“But we got there in the end, didn’t we? It was an amazing few weeks.”
Australia lifted themselves after that defeat to South Africa, and beat hosts New Zealand in their quarter-final. However, there was trouble in the semi-finals, where after Hazlewood’s 4/26 cleaned up Sri Lanka for 205, Australia were struggling at 93/5.
It was Marsh – like he would countless times for the senior team in the future – who played the game-changing knock, anchoring the innings with a fine 97, helping Australia close the deal with two wickets to spare.
The final was another close encounter, where Hazlewood’s 4/30 helped Australia overcome Pakistan by 25 runs. Marsh believes these two games could’ve swung either way, and the side scraped through at the right time.
“We were in a lot of trouble [in the semi-final], as we were in the final as well,” said Marsh. “We found a way to get ourselves out of the trouble and we got over the line. In the semi-final, we just scraped over the line. And in the final, it was the same thing.”
It was a seminal tournament for Marsh. He came face to face with several future international stars and developed bonds that would last a lifetime. It was a tournament where he came up against the likes of KL Rahul (India), Jason Holder (West Indies), and Babar Azam (Pakistan).
He remembers Holder with particular regard. “All those guys, they’ve gone on to become world-class players. Jason Holder was the same height back then, so he was a scary prospect as an 18-year-old,” Marsh said.
“But I also think that the relationship was beautiful, you know that tournament – a lot of guys have been friends for a long period of time. It’s a great tournament to be part of.”
Being a leader at a young age isn’t easy, but Marsh understood the nuances of featuring in a global tournament.
“Everyone talks about tournament play being a lot harder than bilateral series or playing for your states back home, and that’s no different in the U19s.
“Every game sort of matters, you’ve got to qualify for the quarter-finals at the time and there’s always pressure. And that helps young kids develop their routines, and their ability to handle pressure.”
Marsh had a word of advice for the current crop of youngsters set to play in the upcoming ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024.
“Just enjoy the different pressures and different situations you find yourself in,” he said. “Learn as much as you can from that situation. All the best players of the world always stand up at certain times and we can see that throughout that tournament.”
The U19 Men’s CWC will begin on 19 January, with Ireland taking on USA and hosts South Africa facing off against West Indies.
