The 2027 ODI World Cup is set to take place across South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia between October 4 and November 21 of next year and the reigning champions are getting crucial match practice in African conditions with three ODIs each against Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The Aussies are kicking off their African tour with the first of three ODIs at the Harare Sports Club on Tuesday, opting to bat first for the 9:30am local time day match.
With three Tests also to be played in South Africa across October, the World Cup champions are using the Zimbabwe leg to test their depth as they begin looking beyond the aging pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.
Starc and Cummins are linking up with the side in South Africa, whilst Hazlewood missed Tuesday's first ODI despite being with the squad in Zimbabwe.
Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson and Nathan Ellis lead Tuesday's bowling lineup along with incumbent spinner Adam Zampa, whilst 20-year-old batting all-rounder Ollie Peake and 23-year-old all-rounder Cooper Connolly have both been given additional opportunities to make a case for World Cup consideration whilst Cameron Green is sidelined with what Marsh described as "shoulder soreness".
It's a special city for Marsh to enjoy his 100-game milestone in the format, having spent many of his younger years at the Marsh family home in Harare, growing up with the three Curran brothers (Ben, Tom and Sam) after the Curran family were forcibly evicted from their Zimbabwean farm during the period of Robert Mugabe's land redistribution regime.
"I actually wanted to play for Zimbabwe at one point," Marsh revealed this week.
Harare Sports Club is also the site of his breakout tour as an ODI batter, having struck 89 and 86* against South Africa and Zimbabwe in the space of one week during a 2014 tri-series.
"I had the opportunity to bat three in a couple of those games, which was amazing," Marsh told reporters at the pre-series press conference on Monday.
"To be honest, it feels so long ago that it's hard to really even remember the tour.
"But I do know that obviously I had a couple of really good innings as a young kid, and that was a great squad to be a part of."
As the stand-in ODI captain for Cummins, Marsh says he feels a "responsibility" to ensure that Connolly, Peake and other youngsters such as Joel Davies enjoy this tour as much as he did the 2014 one, when he on the cusp of his 23rd birthday.
"For me to now think that I'm a senior player within this group – I just want to create the best environment for them to learn, to hopefully excel, to experience playing international cricket," Marsh added.
"We are so lucky to do what we do, to get to come to places like this, tour and be together.
"I hope they have a great time and a similar time to what I had."
Despite this week's ODIs kicking off at the very TV-friendly time of 5:30pm on Australia's east coast, the little publicised tour of Zimbabwe takes place in the background of AFL and NRL finals, with subscription broadcaster Kayo Sports not even adding the fixtures to their schedule until less than 24 hours before the match.
The Zimbabweans are putting all chips into a 'Dad's Army'-type squad for their first home World Cup since 2003, selecting three players in their 40s - captain Sikandar Raza, wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor and spin bowler Graeme Cremer - for their series squad.
It's Australia's first visit to Zimbabwe for ODIs since the aforementioned 2014 tri-series, whilst Travis Head was part of an Aaron Finch-led side for two T20Is in July 2018.
Australia tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa
ODIs v Zimbabwe: September 15, 18, 20
ODIs v South Africa: September 24, 27, 30
Tests v South Africa: October 9-13, 18-22, 27-31
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
