The highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy gets under way at Perth Stadium on Friday with India, coming off the back of a shock 3-0 loss at home to New Zealand, aiming to continue their success against Australia by winning their third successive away series down under.
Australia may have defeated India in last year’s World Test Championship Final but it’s been a decade since they’ve won a series against their great South Asian rivals.
Australia’s star all-rounder Mitchell Marsh spoke to Melinda Farrell, working on behalf of Al Jazeera Sport, from Perth ahead of the first of five Test matches.
Marsh is looking forward to playing in his first Test series against India since 2018.
Al Jazeera: Mitch, in the past 18 months Australia have won the World Cup and World Test Championship Finals against India but some players in this squad have never experienced a Test series win against India in a series. Is it an itch you really want to scratch?
Mitchell Marsh: I don’t think it’s an itch to scratch, but everyone’s very excited to play in this series. There has been a huge build-up. And we’ve built a great rivalry with this team and the people that are in it, so we’re just all excited to crack on and hopefully, it’s a really entertaining series.
Al Jazeera: Is it unthinkable for Australia to lose three straight home series in a row to India? Does the possibility of a third straight defeat bring this series into even sharper focus?
Marsh: One of the real strengths of our team over this last little period is just our ability to stay present in high-pressure situations, which there certainly will be throughout this series. For us, looking back at series that we’ve lost and series that we’ve won, or trophies that we’ve won over the last few years, they’re great memories. Obviously, the losses are not great ones. But right now, it’s just about focusing on this series. And we don’t need any extra motivation to represent our country and to play in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, so we won’t look back. We’ll stay present in the moment.
Al Jazeera: Is this the most vulnerable India have been coming into a series against Australia in recent years, with heightened scrutiny after the lost New Zealand series and question marks about the form of key Indian players?
Marsh: We’ve got a lot of respect for India. We know that they’re a fantastic cricket side. Any series that you lose, you’re always disappointed, so I’m sure they were disappointed to lose to New Zealand. But for us, it’s about really focusing on what we’re trying to achieve, the way that we want to play, and zero in on that. We know that at our best we’re a very good cricket side, as are they.
Al Jazeera: Will this be a bowlers’ series or a batters’ series?
Marsh: For my sake, hopefully not bowling! [laughs] Look, I think it’s going to be a really even battle. Both teams have got great bowling lineups. The wickets in Australia over the last few years have been great cricket wickets. There haven’t been the big scores [in recent years], but ultimately we don’t know. The best team will win the series by batting and bowling really well.
Al Jazeera: How important will your role as a fourth seamer be, especially without Cameron Green in the squad?
Marsh: I’m looking forward to it. It’s not new territory for me. I’ve been here plenty of times. I feel really calm and I’m just going about my work. If you look at how many overs the all-rounders bowled over the last three to four years, it’s really not a lot, but they can be important overs. And for me, whether it’s a couple of overs here and there, or 10 overs to 15 overs, it’s just about competing and being really clear on my role and trying to give the boys a tap out when required. I’m really relaxed about my bowling and where it’s at and I feel really well prepared. That feels good.
Al Jazeera: India’s superstar batsman Virat Kohli, as always, has been under particular scrutiny but Australia often seems to bring out the best in him. Do you try to get under his skin or is it a case of definitely don’t poke the bear?
Marsh: He’s the new Harley Reid [West Coast Eagles player in the Australian Football League], in terms of back pages. He’s on the back page of the West Australian [newspaper] at the moment. It’s been fun to read. We know he’s one of the greatest to ever play the game, and you don’t become one of the greatest without being able to perform under pressure. So it’s always high stakes. We’ve got a lot of respect for Virat, and hopefully, we can keep him quiet throughout the series, but we know that there are going to be times when he may get on top of us, and you respect that. I guess you’re just looking forward to the challenge of playing against guys like that.
Al Jazeera: That sounds like don’t poke the bear.
Marsh: He’s been poked many times!
Al Jazeera: Will this be a Test series where it can feel a bit more like an away crowd? Newspapers have been publishing articles in Hindi and Punjabi and there’s a huge Indian fanbase in Australia.
Marsh: I think it’s fantastic. We know that the Indian cricket team is probably one of the biggest sporting teams in the world, in any sport. Anywhere they go, they have a huge amount of support. Indian cricket fans are some of the best in the world, and so the opportunity to play in front of them anywhere you go is always fantastic. I dare say we’re still going to have a lot of Australian fans. It’s been a huge build-up, and we know, certainly with these big series, how much our fans get around us. So to see both sets of fans going at it at the grounds, will be amazing to be a part of.
Al Jazeera: Final question, Mitch. What are your favourite Border-Gavaskar series memories, either watching or playing?
Marsh: Seeing Australia win in 2004 when Gilly [Adam Gilchrist] was captain. It was just backs against the wall, and the way they went about it was pretty special. Watching as a young kid then was amazing. And my first Test win was against India at Adelaide Oval [in 2014]. It was a really special week. It was my first Test at home, my third Test match. Gazza [Nathan Lyon] spun us to victory. I took a catch on the outfield. I was a young, bright-eyed kid and that was a really special moment. I sang the team song with my old man [father] out in the middle of Adelaide Oval. It was very special.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
