Hamstring fears can't stop Mitch Marsh
Perth Scorcher Mitch Marsh was instructed to take it easy after reporting slight pain in a hamstring while lunging at a ball in the field during Lahore's innings in Tuesday night's Champions League dead rubber.
He responded with one of the greatest all-round feats by any Australian in Twenty20 ranks.
Shane Watson, David Hussey and Daniel Harris are the only three Australians with better all-round returns after Marsh hammered an unbeaten 63 to sweep the match away from the Lions.
It followed his stunning opening burst of 2-12 in three overs with the new ball to place Lahore under immense pressure in a game they had to win comfortably to qualify for the semifinals.
For the second time in the tournament, Marsh thumped consecutive sixes to win the match after he dragged Perth to 7-130 in reply to Lahore's modest 6-124.
Marsh travelled to Dubai last night to join the Australian team as it prepares to take on Pakistan in all three formats.
He will be assessed by medical staff today but was confident he would be fit to play the T20 match tomorrow and maintain his push to make a Test debut this month.
"There was just a bit of hamstring tightness," Marsh said. "It wasn't too bad."
Relishing his chance to captain the Scorchers while Adam Voges was rested - making him the third member of his family, after father Geoff and brother Shaun - to lead a senior WA team, Marsh set the standard.
While Joel Paris continued to have a dramatic impact with the new ball by claiming wickets in his opening spell for the fourth time in the tournament, Marsh's genuine pace and sharp bounce on a new pitch at the Chinnaswamy Stadium helped destroy Lahore's top order.
The Lions collapsed to 4-11 before a fighting 69 not out from Saad Nasim gave them a competitive total.
Then Perth's inexperienced line-up, with six players aged 22 or younger, buckled against Lahore's probing spinners.
Marsh's first target was to get Perth to 79 and deny Lahore the run rate required to displace Chennai in the semifinals. He did that. Then, aided by veteran Brad Hogg's punchy 28 not out, he swept the Scorchers to victory.
"I was a bit panicky (at 6-40), but I knew if I could hang around and take it as deep as I could, once we passed the 79 they would not be as intense," Marsh said.
"That was the first goal and then when we got there I said to Hoggy we may as well win it."
Their stand of 68 in less than seven overs was the best for the eighth wicket by any Australian team and the eighth best in T20 history.
