Mitchell Marsh to play as batsman till full recovery

Australia allrounder Mitchell Marsh will stay away from bowling during the first half of the tri-series that also involves India and England till the time he regains full fitness. Marsh injured his hamstring during the second Test against India in Brisbane and as a result sat out from the remaining two games.

Set to miss the first two games of the tri-series as well, Marsh will be considered for selection for Australia's third ODI against England at Hobart on January 23. Even if he makes it to the playing XI, he will play only as a batsman. "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. 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," he told reporters on Monday.

Marsh is one of the four allrounders in Australia's 15-man World Cup squad and faces a tough competition from the other three for a spot in the playing XI. Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell and James Faulkner are all relatively more experienced than the 23-year-old and statistically have a better record in all the departments. The only way he can move up the pegging order is on the basis of better performances with the ball.

"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. 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," he said.

Since making his debut in 2011, Marsh has played just 12 ODIs, four Tests and three T20Is. He made his Test debut last year against Pakistan in UAE after impressive performances in the Zimbabwe tri-series, also featuring South Africa. Displaying maturity to bat at the Test level, he hit a fifty against Pakistan in the second Test at Abu Dhabi, scoring 87 even as the Australian innings crumbled around him.

During the Brisbane Test against India in December last year, he re-injured his hamstring and was subsequently replaced by batsman Joe Burns for the rest of the series. Marsh says the reason for his slightly prolonged absence from international cricket is due to World Cup, making it clear he doesn't want to jeopardise his chances of representing Australia in the marquee event.

"If we didn't have the World Cup, I probably wouldn't be out for this long. The last few weeks I have worked really hard at the WACA and we have great support there so the hammy is feeling good at the moment," he said.