MELBOURNE: Four years after being dropped as a test player for Australia due to a run of poor results, allrounder Mitchell Marsh made a telling return to form with a run-a-ball century against England at Headingly during the Ashes series in July.
His resurgence as a batter — and bowler — continues.
In the first cricket test against Pakistan in Perth, Marsh scored 90 and 63 not out to be named man of the match in the home side’s 360-run win inside four days. The 32-year-old Marsh also claimed the crucial wicket of former captain and star batter Babar Azam in the first innings to further highlight his overall value to the team.
Marsh was dropped by selectors in December 2018 after a run of 11 innings saw him score single figures seven times – including two ducks. His highest score during that streak was 45 runs.
Australia captain Pat Cummins says one key difference in the new-look Marsh is his willingness to play to his strengths, rather than try to imitate the batting style of others.
“I think he’s just got a really clear process at the moment in whatever format it is,” Cummins said. “He knows how to score runs, and you know he doesn’t really care what it looks like.
“I think in the past you can get caught up in, ‘There’s a template of how you’re meant to play test cricket or supposed to play test cricket and you’ve got to have a good forward defense’. I think Mitch has found a really good game plan.”
Australia has won 15 tests in a row against Pakistan in Australia, and Cummins and Co. will hope to extend that streak in the Boxing Day test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground beginning Dec. 26. It’s the second of three in the series, with the third set to start Jan. 3 in Sydney.
Off-spin bowler Nathan Lyon will enter the MCG match having taken test wicket No. 500 during the win in Perth.
“He’s a star. He’s so good,” Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne said of Lyon, who joined Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath as Australians with 500 test wickets.
“He’s got a natural ability, very gifted ability of bowling a very good off-spin ball. The amount of revs he gets — it’s almost impossible for anyone else to get that amount of revs . . . that skill alone is almost unteachable.”
Lyon reached the 500-wicket landmark when he successfully went for a leg before wicket referral against Faheem Ashraf and was embraced by his teammates. The off-spinner raised the ball to the applause of the Perth crowd.
Lyon then clean bowled Aamer Jamal in the same over off a delivery which bounced no higher than ankle height to finish with 2-18 in his memorable test match.
Mitchell Marsh excels in test cricket comeback after four years, stars against Pakistan
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Mitchell Marsh excels in test cricket comeback after four years, stars against Pakistan
- Marsh was dropped in 2018 after he scored single figures seven times and was dismissed twice for a duck
- The 32-year-old became man of the match in the first test against Pakistan after great batting performance
Napoli cruise past Milan to book Italian Super Cup final spot in Riyadh
- Napoli make second Super Cup final in new four-team format, which was introduced in the Kingdom in 2023
- Milan rue missed chances as Rafael Leao’s absence due to knock proves costly
RIYADH: On one of the coldest evenings of the year in Riyadh, the atmosphere inside Al-Awwal Park was anything but subdued. Thousands of fans braved the conditions to witness another major chapter in Saudi Arabia’s growing international calendar, as Napoli and AC Milan went head-to-head in the first semi-final of the 2025/26 Italian Super Cup.
It wasn’t to be for I Rossoneri, as goals from David Neres and Rasmus Hojlund proved decisive for Napoli, sending them into the Super Cup final for the second time in the new four-team format after missing out on last year’s edition.
Backed by raucous "Forza Milan” chants, Milan nearly opened the scoring in the fifth minute when Ruben Loftus-Cheek tested Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, who reacted sharply to make a vital save.
Napoli responded with a spell of pressure of their own, but were repeatedly denied by a well-organised Milan defence.
Milan came close again in the 34th minute, as Adrien Rabiot was found inside the six-yard box from a dipping cross, only for his effort to fly over Milinkovic-Savic.
They would keep that momentum going as just a few minutes later, a swift counter-attack led by Alexis Saelemaekers found Christopher Nkunku on the edge of the box, though his strike also flew over goal.
Napoli punished Milan’s missed chances in the 39th minute. A low pass from Rasmus Hojlund across the box was parried by Mike Maignan straight into the path of David Neres, who made no mistake slotting the ball into the open net.
Napoli pushed for a second before the interval, with Hojlund testing Maignan again, who turned the striker’s effort behind for a corner. The Milan goalkeeper was called into action once again in the second half, producing a strong save to deny Amir Rrahmani.
Yet it was another powerful strike that finally broke past the Frenchman, with Rasmus Hojlund capitalising on a deep through ball from Leonardo Spinazzola to extend Napoli’s lead in the 63rd minute and tighten their grip on the game.
Milan fans briefly found a lift in the 75th minute when Luka Modric came out to a standing ovation, though it proved to be their only notable moment of the second half. Despite enjoying spells of possession, Massimiliano Allegri’s side were unable to break through and exited the tournament after just 90 minutes.
Napoli will now turn their attention to the final, where they will look to lift the Italian Super Cup for the third time in their history. For Riyadh, the semi-final marked another night of elite European football, with fans set to witness more action in tomorrow’s semi-final between Bologna and Inter Milan.
