Occasionally, a line of commentary perfectly captures the sentiment of a nation. In Adelaide two summers ago, Gerard Whateley did just that when Australia lost a third quick wicket in pursuit of 187 to win a low-scoring scrap. “New Zealand are now where every good platoon wants to be,” he roared on the ABC Grandstand call. “They’re into the Marshes!”
On that night the Marsh brothers did make solid contributions in the eventual win. But the long-held perception that they were an ongoing liability was always going to take something far more meaningful to properly shake off. A pair of Ashes tons each should do the trick.
Of course, both made many more important runs in the last month than those they piled on to the tourists in this final, brutal, day in the field. But it was for that reason they had earned the right to fill their boots when the going was so good. It was time to tuck into their pudding.
In the case of the elder brother Shaun, his ice-cool half century at Brisbane when the series opener was seriously hot (hard as that is to believe now), then his career-defining century at Adelaide, will be talked about when he is old and grey.
For the younger man, the magnificent maiden hundred he peeled off in Perth at the first time of asking after his own unlikely recall was the single most joyful moment of the series, in the Test where the Ashes were reclaimed. It doesn’t get much better than that. Then in Melbourne, when batting 160 balls to help stave off any thoughts of defeat, it reflected his growing maturity.
Sunday was not any of that. As Michael Vaughan noted on the BBC, the only decision Steve Smith had to make was whether they would try and win the game in four days or five. With it 57 degrees in the sun and 473 in the shade, the latter option was logical. Especially with these boys from the desert capital of Perth so experienced at batting in a furnace. So to work they went.
Leaning into his trademark cover drive, Shaun took care of the two runs he needed for three figures within an over of resumption. Passing 150 in due course, he concludes the series with 445 runs at an average of 74 – superior to David Warner on both measures. When Mitch did the same an hour later, it gave him two centuries in four Ashes innings. For a couple of blokes who didn’t expect to feature at all this summer, they couldn’t have dreamed for more.
“Best mates,” is how the younger of the two describes their relationship. Now they are one of only three sets of brothers to make Test centuries while at the crease for their respective salutes, following in the footsteps of the Chappells and Waughs. When Shaun moved to 100, Mitch was the more visibly excited of the two. When the second milestone was reached, the bigger brother was so proud that he nearly ran himself out when prioritising a premature cuddle.
“The emotions got the better of me. I wanted to give him a hug but forgot that the ball was still in play,” Shaun told the ABC. Mitch’s take: “I went for the high five and Shaun went for the hug and somewhere parked in the middle had a split second panic.” Sure, the whole episode was a bit daft, but there was no begrudging their moment.
It was fitting Tom Curran would be integral to both Mitch’s triumph, via a long hop, and his dismissal next ball, with a beauty that darted off the seam. The relationship between the families is well documented from when their fathers coached together in Zimbabwe. “I’m sure he’ll be reminding me about today’s wicket for all of the county season,” Mitch said with a smile. Their time as Surrey team-mates begins in April.
With a lead of 300 posted, Smith finally declared that enough was enough. Soon, his bowlers were finding life that England’s exhausted attack could not. Nathan Lyon gobbled up a couple more left-handers to make 17 southpaws for the series. “We have not got away from his stranglehold,” England’s assistant coach, Paul Farbrace, said at stumps. “Along with Steve Smith he has been their star performer.” The scene is set for him to finish the job on Monday.
But this was the day for the brothers from Western Australia to indulge. With expectations of them now radically altered, when the Australian show goes on the road in March everything will change as a result. Tucking in at the buffet is good and well, but against the might of South Africa’s brilliant pace attack, they will have to catch and kill their own. To be continued.
