ODI World Cup 2023: Mitchell Marsh will miss Australia-England clash after flying home citing family reasons

Australia will miss the services of star all-rounder Mitchell Marsh during their highly-anticipated ODI World Cup 2023 encounter against England on Saturday, November 4, at the colossal Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Marsh has returned home to Perth owing to family reasons. There is no surety on when the 32-year-old will reunite with his teammates in India. Meanwhile, no decisions will be made on whether he needs to be replaced in the squad. This comes as a huge setback for Australia as Marsh looked in decent touch, scoring one century and one half-century in the six games. Thus far, he has bowled only 42 balls in the ODI World Cup and picked two wickets.

The former five-time champions started their campaign in the marquee event with two back-to-back losses but have turned things around in style with four consecutive wins. They are currently placed at No. 3 on the points table behind South Africa and India.

"Australian allrounder Mitchell Marsh has returned home from the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 late last night for personal reasons. A timeline on his return to the squad is to be confirmed," Cricket Australia confirmed in a statement on Thursday that Marsh had flown home on Wednesday night.

Glenn Maxwell suffers freakish 'golf cart' injury

Mitchell Marsh won't be the only player missing for Australia during their game against England. Star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who recently broke the record for the fastest century in the ODI World Cup history, slipped and fell from the back of a golf cart and suffered a concussion. The 35-year-old was subsequently ruled out of Australia's clash against their Ashes rivals. However, he is progressing well and should be fit soon.

Meanwhile, Marcus Stoinis, who missed the last couple of games due to a minor calf problem, is expected to be fit for the Australia-England showdown. In the absence of Marsh, Steve Smith should come in to bat No. 3, which is also his preferred batting position.

Also Check: ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Teams & Squads