Justin Langer Backs Shaun Marsh to Play ODI Series Against South Africa

Shaun Marsh, one of Australia’s mainstay has got a backing in Justin Langer to play the ODI series against South Africa. The left-handed batsman who endured a torrid time in the UAE against Pakistan feels he needs to come back strong before the home summer begins. Meanwhile, Marsh, in two Tests against Pakistan, managed just 14 runs across four innings.

Marsh looks to later Tests numbers in ODIs

However, Langer, the Australia coach has backed Shaun to get included in the squad for the next month’s ODI series against the Proteas. During the last home Ashes, Shaun was the second best batsman in the Australia team after Steven Smith, as he hit a couple of hundreds across five games. Though Marsh is keen to bag the middle-order spot for India Tests, he is likely to skip spending time in the Sheffield Shield.

Read More – Most wickets in IPL 2009

However, Justin says knowing he has had a forgettable outing in the UAE, on merit, Shaun deserves to be on the list for South Africa ODIs.

“SOS has obviously had a poor series and he knows that. You can see it in his face he knows he’s had a poor series,” Langer said. “So then you get the balancing act right as a selector. On merit, he has to play the one-dayers; in his last five one-day internationals for Australia, he’s scored two hundreds. You’ve got to be fair and reward people for performance.”

“On the flip side of that, by playing the one-dayers then he might not play Shield cricket. But having said all that, runs are the currency of value whether you’re making them in T20 cricket or one-day cricket or Sheffield Shield cricket or Test cricket.”

Also Read – Most maidens in IPL 2009

Langer eyes T20 series

However, after Pakistan had beaten the Aussies 1-0 in Tests, the onus would fall on the T20Is, which begins on October 24th. Meanwhile, Australia is all set to play the UAE in the one-off T20I before taking on Pakistan.

On the other hand, Langer feels what’s done is done and now they have got to look into the future. The former Australia opener says the management has to pick the best side and that they cannot afford to make further mistakes.

“You’ve got to pick your best T20 side and you’ve got to pick your best one-day side,” Langer said. “If you ask the players, they want to play for Australia. They love playing for their states but you love playing international cricket.”

Must Read – Most dot balls in IPL 2009