PAKISTAN VS AUSTRALIA, 2018

On merit, Marsh has to play in ODIs: Langer

by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on

"On merit, Marsh has to play the one-dayers. In his last five one-day internationals for Australia, he's scored two hundreds" - Langer © Getty

Despite scoring only 14 runs in the just-concluded Test series against Pakistan in the UAE, Australian head coach Justin Langer has backed Shaun Marsh to retain his place in the ODI squad for the upcoming three-match rubber versus South Africa, starting on November 4.

Marsh, though, has been in good nick in the 50-over format, evidenced by the two hundreds he composed for a struggling Australian side against England earlier in the year.

"SOS [Shaun Marsh] has obviously had a poor (Test) series and he knows that," Langer was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. "You can see it in his face he knows he's had a poor series. So then you (have to) 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 flipside 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. The only currency of value are runs. That's just the truth of it," he noted.

Marsh, who isn't a part of the Australian set-up, for the one-off T20I versus Pakistan, is expected to partake in the second round of the Sheffield Shield, which will begin on Thursday. However, Marsh alongside his teammates, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh and Aaron Finch, are set to miss the third round of the competition due to national commitments.

With Australia scheduled to play a slew of limited overs games before the Test series versus India, Test hopefuls like Glenn Maxwell and D' Arcy Short could miss out on pressing their case in Shield cricket. Langer, however, ruled out the possibility of asking Test hopefuls to take part in the Sheffield Shield instead of international cricket.

"You've got to pick your best T20 side (and) you've got to pick your best one-day side. If you ask the players, they want to play for Australia. They want to play international cricket, that's what they love doing. They love playing for their states but you love playing international cricket, that's what we do.

"(You've) got to pick your best T20 side ... you've got to pick your best one-day side and your best Test side and that's how the selection should be."

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