Unpicking Marsh's 130 runs
Unpicking Marsh's 130 runs
Of course there were things in his favour. Coming in with the eased pressure of a decided series, on its most reliable pitch, without a batting collapse for distraction. Then three dropped catches, a number of other close calls.
Most importantly Rangana Herath was hobbled by injury after a blow to the box while batting. Sri Lanka opened with spin from both ends on day two, but the left-arm maestro couldn't bowl before tea and was hampered after it.
He didn't settle until the second new ball, just after Marsh had played on to Suranga Lakmal deep into the third day, masterfully reeling Smith down for a marginal stumping in the 86th over.
That was Herath's first wicket in his 23rd over, but 15 more overs and he ended up with six. On National Marsh Day, younger brother Mitchell's second-best Test score of 53 was the only subsequent resistance. Seven for 104 went down after Smith.
So you could argue that Shaun Marsh and Smith were spared the best of Herath early, or that Herath's frolic through the rest of the batting makes their stand all the more creditable. It depends on the slant you want to provide.
What impressed about Marsh the Elder was how composed he looked in starting. Through the last session on the second day, after five sessions crouched under the helmet at bat-pad, despite David Warner's early fall, he stood firm.
He came down the wicket regularly, he defended the varying lines with discrimination, he was positive in scoring when opportunities arose, he didn't look rushed. He saw off early spin and flourished with later pace.
There were a few edges near the field, but his first drop wasn't until he was 59. Had he been taken at short leg, two for 131 would still have been by far the team's best start of the series, and Marsh would have had the highest individual score.
He took advantage of the second drop on 67, less so the third on 125. He was out in classic Marsh fashion: one ball a perfect straight drive past the bowler for four, the next twirling the bat anti-clockwise in an attempted leave, too slow to stop the inside edge crashing into the stumps.
The dilemma of Marsh
The circumstances may have been easier than previous Tests, but there's no way to know whether Usman Khawaja or Burns would have been able to take advantage. Nor to know whether Marsh would have struggled as they did at Kandy or at Galle.
Nonetheless, Marsh still had to come in cold in this final Test, and score. Where most of the series a wicket seemed likely to fall every ball, he brought the calmer rhythm of a player in occupation. He looked the part.
Such is the dilemma of Marsh. He can so completely look the part, and he can also look like he's missing several parts.
His ability to go big is not in question. But of his 31 Test innings, a dozen have ended for less than 10 runs. Eighteen have finished for under 20.
With the hundred this match, Marsh's Test average has pushed just past 40. In innings where he reaches 10, it shoots up to 67.38. If he reaches 20, it's 86.46, or on the eight times he's hit 50 runs, the mark is 115.37.
His last three innings are a row of ticks: the key 49 in a tricky nocturnal run-chase against New Zealand, a monster 182 against a demoralised West Indies in Hobart, then here in Colombo. The tricky part is, with Australia's home summer approaching, there's really no place for him.
Since coach Darren Lehmann began in 2013, he and his fellow selectors have been consistent in their desire to play an all-rounder. Mitchell Marsh's bowling has improved so much it almost justifies his place alone, and there is still patience that his batting will come good as it recently has in 50-over cricket.
That leaves five places. Smith and Warner pick themselves, captain and vice-captain, rattling off tons per Test at a higher rate than most batsmen in history.
Adam Voges, Khawaja, and Burns all made piles of runs last season in Australia and New Zealand. Voges' age is cited against him, but at 36 to Marsh's 33, the latter is almost as superannuated. The other two are a few years younger again, and selectors want long-term prospects.
The question then is whether Marsh plays in India next year. Such is Australia's subcontinent desperation that by now he probably does. He'd inspire more trust than Khawaja or Burns, and Smith has spoken about specialised squads for Asia.
Of course there were things in his favour. Coming in with the eased pressure of a decided series, on its most reliable pitch, without a batting collapse for distraction. Then three dropped catches, a number of other close calls.
Most importantly Rangana Herath was hobbled by injury after a blow to the box while batting. Sri Lanka opened with spin from both ends on day two, but the left-arm maestro couldn't bowl before tea and was hampered after it.
He didn't settle until the second new ball, just after Marsh had played on to Suranga Lakmal deep into the third day, masterfully reeling Smith down for a marginal stumping in the 86th over.
That was Herath's first wicket in his 23rd over, but 15 more overs and he ended up with six. On National Marsh Day, younger brother Mitchell's second-best Test score of 53 was the only subsequent resistance. Seven for 104 went down after Smith.
So you could argue that Shaun Marsh and Smith were spared the best of Herath early, or that Herath's frolic through the rest of the batting makes their stand all the more creditable. It depends on the slant you want to provide.
What impressed about Marsh the Elder was how composed he looked in starting. Through the last session on the second day, after five sessions crouched under the helmet at bat-pad, despite David Warner's early fall, he stood firm.
He came down the wicket regularly, he defended the varying lines with discrimination, he was positive in scoring when opportunities arose, he didn't look rushed. He saw off early spin and flourished with later pace.
There were a few edges near the field, but his first drop wasn't until he was 59. Had he been taken at short leg, two for 131 would still have been by far the team's best start of the series, and Marsh would have had the highest individual score.
He took advantage of the second drop on 67, less so the third on 125. He was out in classic Marsh fashion: one ball a perfect straight drive past the bowler for four, the next twirling the bat anti-clockwise in an attempted leave, too slow to stop the inside edge crashing into the stumps.
The dilemma of Marsh
The circumstances may have been easier than previous Tests, but there's no way to know whether Usman Khawaja or Burns would have been able to take advantage. Nor to know whether Marsh would have struggled as they did at Kandy or at Galle.
Nonetheless, Marsh still had to come in cold in this final Test, and score. Where most of the series a wicket seemed likely to fall every ball, he brought the calmer rhythm of a player in occupation. He looked the part.
Such is the dilemma of Marsh. He can so completely look the part, and he can also look like he's missing several parts.
His ability to go big is not in question. But of his 31 Test innings, a dozen have ended for less than 10 runs. Eighteen have finished for under 20.
With the hundred this match, Marsh's Test average has pushed just past 40. In innings where he reaches 10, it shoots up to 67.38. If he reaches 20, it's 86.46, or on the eight times he's hit 50 runs, the mark is 115.37.
His last three innings are a row of ticks: the key 49 in a tricky nocturnal run-chase against New Zealand, a monster 182 against a demoralised West Indies in Hobart, then here in Colombo. The tricky part is, with Australia's home summer approaching, there's really no place for him.
Since coach Darren Lehmann began in 2013, he and his fellow selectors have been consistent in their desire to play an all-rounder. Mitchell Marsh's bowling has improved so much it almost justifies his place alone, and there is still patience that his batting will come good as it recently has in 50-over cricket.
That leaves five places. Smith and Warner pick themselves, captain and vice-captain, rattling off tons per Test at a higher rate than most batsmen in history.
Adam Voges, Khawaja, and Burns all made piles of runs last season in Australia and New Zealand. Voges' age is cited against him, but at 36 to Marsh's 33, the latter is almost as superannuated. The other two are a few years younger again, and selectors want long-term prospects.
The question then is whether Marsh plays in India next year. Such is Australia's subcontinent desperation that by now he probably does. He'd inspire more trust than Khawaja or Burns, and Smith has spoken about specialised squads for Asia.
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