Marsh pair creates World Cup history

Mitchell Marsh and his dad Geoff created history with Australia’s ODI World Cup triumph in India on Sunday.  

It was fitting that Geoff Marsh was in the stands of the cavernous Narendra Modi Stadium to see his son Mitchell hold the World Cup Trophy aloft.  

Because when Glenn Maxwell scampered back for the victorious second run a little bit of history was created – the Marsh pair had become the first father-son duo to both play in an ODI World Cup final-winning team following Geoff’s success in 1987.  

Although diametrically different players, certainly in Mitch’s eyes, the similarities between the Marsh World Cup of 1987 and the Marsh World Cup of 2023 are striking.  
Both won the title as unfancied underdogs in India. Both scored two centuries, and both finished as Australia’s second-highest scorer.  
Geoff finished with 428 runs, Mitch with 441.  

Geoff opened in every innings, Mitch opened until Travis Head made his return from injury.  

The glaring difference between the campaigns was their strike rates. Geoff’s was a leisurely 68.23, at least by modern standards, and Mitch’s a whopping 107.56.  
Even when you consider the overall tournament strike rates in those years (it was 74.48 in 1987 and 92.03 in 2023), the disparity is vast.  
After his maiden World Cup century – 121 against Pakistan in his 258-run partnership with David Warner – Marsh was asked what his father’s reaction was.  
“It would have taken him four days to get that many,” Marsh quipped.  

“My dad’s a man of few words. He was very happy for us. And we always chat after every game, so he was pumped.” 
(Agencies)