Mitchell Marsh 'wanted to play for Zimbabwe'

Australia captain Mitchell Marsh has revealed that he once dreamed of representing Zimbabwe, where he spent three years of his childhood while his father, Geoff Marsh, coached the national team.

Marsh, who will lead Australia in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe, returned to Harare this week and was reunited with a man who played a major role in his childhood.

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At Harare Sports Club on Monday, Marsh embraced Farai ‘Happy’ Mapondera, who worked at the Marsh family home during their time in Zimbabwe. The pair had not seen each other for almost 25 years.

Marsh spotted Mapondera beneath the team viewing area and immediately went over to greet him. Mapondera had tried to meet the Australian captain two days earlier but missed him while Marsh was training at a nearby gym.

Marsh later brought him upstairs for a video call with Geoff, his sister Melissa and mother Michelle. Mapondera joked that Geoff had lost some of his hair since his days coaching Zimbabwe.

The reunion was emotional for Marsh, who recalled spending much of his childhood with Mapondera.

“I spent my days with him a lot of the time,” Marsh told cricket.com.au. “I refused to eat in the house. I’d go and have dinner with him. He was a big part of my childhood.”

Marsh also has fond cricketing memories from his time in Zimbabwe, particularly with the Curran family. He spent hours playing cricket at Harare Sports Club with Tom, Sam and Ben Curran, whose father Kevin was one of Geoff’s coaching assistants.

Tom and Sam went on to represent England, while Ben is now part of Zimbabwe’s ODI squad. The Curran family also lived with the Marshes for a short period after leaving their farm in Rusape in 2004.

Kevin Curran was part of the Zimbabwe side that recorded their first World Cup victory over Australia in 1983, scoring 27 runs and dismissing Allan Border.

Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza later joked that Marsh was “practically a local”.

Reflecting on his deep connection with the country, Marsh said: “I actually wanted to play for Zimbabwe at one point.”