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Marsh a future captain: Clarke

Mitch Marsh is set for a big futre, says Michael Clarke. Pic: Getty Images

Michael Clarke is backing Mitch Marsh to follow him as an Australian captain - even though the young West Australian allrounder is still a day from earning his first Baggy Green.

Marsh is almost certain to play in the first Test tomorrow when Australia face Pakistan in Dubai.

And current skipper Clarke believes it will be the start of a glorious international career as Marsh follows in the footsteps of his father Geoff and brother Shaun.

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"I believe Mitchell Marsh can be a future captain of Australia," Clarke told News Corp Australia.

"That might sound like a big call for a bloke who only turned 23 on Monday and has yet to play a Test match.

"But I have toured with him quite a few times now and continue to be impressed with his talent, knowledge and game awareness. His cricketing maturity is at least five years ahead of the date of birth printed on his passport."

"I don’t have any plans to give up the captaincy yet ... but I genuinely see Mitch as future leadership material."

Clarke says Marsh's allrounder talents are clear to see.

"When he sets fields, you can see that he is thinking not from the bowler’s perspective, but the batsman’s," Clarke said.

"He is assessing conditions, the batsman’s strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities to exploit the latter. And when he is batting, he is not one of those guys running around without a plan. He is thinking about how to construct an innings."