Mitchell Marsh not to bowl till World Cup eve

Mitchell Marsh, returning to the Australian side after hamstring troubles, will only bowl in the latter stages of the triangular series that serves as a prelude to next month's World Cup. Marsh will play the first part of the tri-series as a pure batsman, and could potentially bat up the order until he is fit enough to bowl his swinging fast-medium.

Australia will play matches against England in Sydney and India in Melbourne before Marsh is seriously considered for selection, with the third match against Eoin Morgan's men in Hobart marked down as the return date. He may not bowl until the tournament final in Perth, provided Australia qualify.

"The plan is for me to be available for selection for the Hobart game but obviously I have got a few things to get past first," he said. "At this stage I will be playing the first few games as a batter while I build my workloads up and go from there, hopefully if it all goes to plan I can start playing as an allrounder at the back half of this series.

"Over the last 12 months I have got my body to a stage where I feel comfortable and strong going out to play. I have gained great confidence in my body that has given me the ability to go out there and play with freedom and that's what the Australian team is all about.

"This is a minor setback for me, and if we didn't have the World Cup I probably wouldn't be out for this long. We all had our eye on the big picture and the hammy's feeling great. The last six months has given me great confidence, and hopefully I can keep building."

Marsh's career was drifting along and not achieving much beyond fat Twenty20 paycheques when he decided - in concert with his father Geoff Marsh, state coach Justin Langer and mentor Tom Moody - that he would shelve his T20 plans in order to focus upon the longer forms of the game. While he was unable to secure a place with an English county team in the winter of 2014, the change in mindset bore fruit for Australia A against India, and national call-ups duly followed.

"I didn't go to the IPL and I really wanted to go to England last year to play some four-day cricket because that's really the most challenging format for me," Marsh said. "I didn't go but that was really a point in time where I had some time off and got stuck into the gym. I started off really well in the A series and that's where it started to happen for me. Last year I really made that decision to concentrate on my goal of playing Test cricket.

"I had a few things I needed to work on technically and mentally as a young player, and I certainly think I'm learning every day with those sorts of things. My batting mentor and coach is Tom Moody and he's someone who's been unbelievable for me not only as a cricketer but as a person as well. I've learned so much off him the last 18 months and he's been massive for me."

Marsh was one of few players to emerge with great credit from the triangular series in Zimbabwe, where the Australians lost to the hosts for the first time since 1993 and were beaten again by South Africa in the final. Marsh played several innings of note, most memorably taking to the high-class offerings of Dale Steyn and also trialling at No. 3 in the batting order.

"That Zimbabwe trip gave me a lot of confidence. It was a bit of a breakout tour for me and has given me great hunger to stay around this group, it was a turning point for me," Marsh said. "I did have a bit of a taste and I did enjoy batting up there, but I think this one-day team's pretty settled with our top order and I'm happy to slot in anywhere."

Moody was part of no fewer than three World Cup campaigns for Australia, and also coached Sri Lanka on their way to the 2007 final. His insights as a former allrounder but also a team leader may well prove valuable for Marsh as he works towards a peak of fitness and focus for the major 50-over tournament, aware that it will be a tight squeeze for spots alongside his fellow allrounders Shane Watson, James Faulkner and Glenn Maxwell.

"There probably is [competition for spots], there's no beating around the bush there, but I think the balance in this squad with so many allrounders gives us great depth and if we get an opportunity we'll all be putting our hands up," Marsh said. "If you're making enough runs or taking wickets you're going to be picked anyway, but my bowling hopefully adds something to our team.

"It's something I really need to focus on and hopefully I can play a role as a batter and a bowler in this team."