A hilarious story of Mitchell Marsh’s celebratory drink on landing in Perth had gone viral after Australia won the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.
At 9am he walked down to a local pub, 500m down towards his home, waited for it to open, and had a few pints just to soak in the atmosphere. He had all the three hours to himself before going off to sleep with no idea if the rest of his teammates were involved in a victory parade on the streets.
Marsh can still vividly recall how the events unfolded that day.
“Yeah, straight (to the pub) from landing. Virtually, yeah. I wasn’t quite ready to stop the celebrations of winning the World Cup, so that was my day... Spent the day on my terms,” he said.
Marsh, Australia’s T20 captain, loves to chill out when he is not on the field, something that helps him relax from the competitive world of professional cricket.
“Having fun has been a great part of my cricket,” he said during an interaction with The Telegraph on Wednesday morning. “Yeah, I wouldn’t say I’m always chilling out, but I certainly enjoy playing the game of cricket and moments like that
where when you win and you get to enjoy celebrations. It’s probably a little bit different culturally... in India than Australia. I don’t think you’d see Virat Kohli going to the pub by himself.”
The son of Geoff Marsh is also an avid surfer and loves to spend time in the sea to unwind between tours. Often referred to as a “Weekend Warrior” for his active lifestyle, he frequently shares his passion for surfing and fishing on social media.
“I’ve grown up on the ocean. I’ve been very fortunate that my dad sort of taught me the ways of the ocean, and you know, often we travel so much that (when we) come home that’s sort of my safe space, being out in the water on a boat, now with my own family. Yeah, I love that, and obviously living in Perth, living close to the beach and the ocean, it’s been a great way to live so far,” the 34-year-old, who plays for LSG this IPL, said.
Two years ago, Marsh, then with Delhi Capitals, also went out surfing with Tristan Stubbs in Visakhapatnam during the tournament.
“I surfed in Vizag, yeah, two years ago... So, yeah, I ticked that off the list, surfing in India,” he reminded.
“Everyone has, I guess, their ways of getting away from the game at times. Certainly the IPL is high-pressure environment and everyone wants to win, but I think as you get a little bit older and you gain a bit more perspective on life, you try and get a bit more balance.
“There’s certainly no surfing luck now, but we find ways to spend time together and relax and get away from the game so that when we do get to training and get to game time, it’s... Yeah, time to switch on.”
Such carefree and relaxed atmosphere also prevails in the Australian dressing room when Marsh is in charge.
“As I’ve spoken about, the pressure and the expectation on teams, wherever you play, is always high these days. So I guess one of my goals has been to create an environment in the dressing room where people can, one, be themselves, and two, be relaxed when they need to be... Having that connection together as a group and
with your teammates is really important.”
Test career ‘done’
The straight-talking Marsh has no qualms about admitting that he has “zero ambition” about playing Test cricket and wants to concentrate solely on the white-
ball format.
Three years ago, he made a sensational return in the Ashes, scoring a rapid 118 in the third Test at Headingley after being left out for four years.
“I did play a crucial role in the 2023 Ashes. I did. Feels like a long time ago now,” he said. “But, yeah, that part of my career is over and I’m very happy and will continue to hopefully play as much white-ball cricket for Australia as I can.”
There were discussions about his inclusion in the last Ashes as well and he even played a Sheffield Shield game for Western Australia. “That was just in case they needed me, which they obviously didn’t... Simply not good enough anymore... That part of my career is done.”
He though has the highest regard for the format. “My personal view is that Test cricket will always be the pinnacle of our sport... It’s the best version of our game and I was extremely fortunate enough to play it and I look forward to watching it for many years to come.”
Marsh thinks “’playing any form of cricket helps in learning and growing”, and that has been driving him to achieve greater heights.
“You know, throughout every generation of cricket, the game’s always evolved to where it is now. I mean, I turn the TV on every night to watch games, to watch the IPL because it’s fun and it’s high-scoring and it’s exciting and that’s what people want.
“I think we are really fortunate that we’ve got some amazing entertainers throughout world cricket now and a lot of those are playing in the IPL. So long may it continue and I’m glad I don’t bowl anymore.”