Mitchell Marsh couldn’t help but smile after edging his first delivery during Wednesday’s training session at the SCG.

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“That’s a good start,” he laughed.

Australian assistant coach Michael Di Venuto, wielding the ‘wanger’ at the other end of the pitch, assured Marsh the nick wouldn’t have carried to the slips cordon.

But he didn’t seem convinced.

Each of his four previous dismissals in the Test arena has been caught in the slips cordon, a worrying trend for the all-rounder with Jasprit Bumrah the executioner on three occasions. He fell victim to the Indian quick twice during last week’s Boxing Day Test at the MCG, caught by wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant after attempting a full-blooded pull shot in the first innings and a forward defence on day four.

Is attack still the best form of defence? Either way, Bumrah’s come out on top.

With six cameras pointing in his direction, Marsh’s net session got off to a scratchy start. The right-hander pressed and prodded, top-edging a pull shot before switching with teammate Alex Carey at the non-striker’s end.

Thwack, thwack, thwack – Travis Head was causing a ruckus in the adjacent net, belting just about everything that came his direction. At the far end of the practice wickets, uncapped all-rounder Beau Webster was troubling Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne with his crafty seamers.

As Marsh began to settle, champion batter Steve Smith walked across and watched from behind the bowler’s arm. After a well-judged leave, Smith yelled, “Played!”

The following ball was a late cut. Smith barked, “Shot!”

Next up, Marsh defended on the front foot, prompting a clap and enthusiastic head nod from the Australian No. 4, who replicated the stroke behind Di Venuto.

A couple of minutes later, Marsh pounced on a short delivery and nailed a pull shot, with the echo resonating around Moore Park. The shackles were off.

From then on, the West Australian was at his destructive best, punching down the ground, carving through point and feasting through mid-wicket.

Marsh had come under intense scrutiny ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series finale, a must-win contest for the tourists, with fans calling for a change of the guard in Sydney. The 33-year-old has averaged 10.42 with the bat against India, the lowest figure for an Australian top-order batter in a home Test summer since Kim Hughes in 1984/85.

Since the series opener in Perth, Marsh has failed to contribute with bat or ball in three consecutive matches, posting scores of 9, 5, 2, 4 and 0 while producing 16 wicketless overs.

However, Carey launched an impassioned defence of Marsh ahead of the New Year’s Test, telling reporters at the SCG on Wednesday: “It is Mitch’s time.”

“This is still a really strong line-up,” he continued.

“I don’t see it (changing) in the near future.

“We’ve got great balance. I think the boys have shown throughout the series some really class innings.”

Carey acknowledged that Labuschagne faced heavy backlash after the first Test in Perth, but has since notched three fifties to help Australia take a 2-1 lead in the series.

“Big Bison is just around the corner as well,” he declared.

Waiting in the wings was Webster, the reigning Sheffield Shield cricketer of the year. The Tasmanian, affectionately known as Slug, has averaged 57.1 in first-class cricket since March 2022, also taking 81 wickets at 31.7 during that period.

The 31-year-old undeniably deserved a chance to prove his worth in the national side, but Marsh has occupied the No. 6 position since his Headingley century during last year’s Ashes series. The right-hander, who received the Allan Border Medal earlier this year, was Australia’s leading run-scorer in Tests last summer with 380 runs at 54.28 and a strike rate of 70.89.

But on Thursday morning, Australian captain Pat Cummins confirmed that Marsh has been dropped for the New Year’s Test, with Webster taking his place for the series finale. With fellow all-rounder Cameron Green set to return from injury in the coming months, the Bison’s Test career is hanging by a thread.

Towards the end of Marsh’s net session on Wednesday, he copped a vicious bouncer to the helmet, making a sickening crunching sound.

“You alright?” Di Venuto asked.

“Yep, got a bit of glove on it,” Marsh replied as he took guard.

The next delivery was a beauty, beating this outside edge on a good length.

“That’s bowling 101,” Marsh muttered with a smile.

After exiting the nets, he gave Andrew McDonald a fist bump before embracing the Australian coach, who less than 48 hours earlier was answering questions about his form slump.

“Would he like better performances? There’s no doubt about that,” McDonald told reporters at the MCG on Monday.

“Over four Test matches, he hasn’t been able to deliver at the level he would like and we would like. But he’s up and about.

“We just won a Test match. He’s in a pretty good headspace.”

The fifth Test between Australia and India gets underway at the SCG on Friday, with the first ball scheduled for 10.30am AEDT.