Marshy disguised as an England coach, with Duncan Fletcher, back in 2000 Marshy disguised as an England coach, with Duncan Fletcher, back in 2000
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Like our spinner shortage?

Well, that’s right … And in some ways I think Shane Warne ruined that a little bit for all competitors. I mean, look at Stuart MacGill: he had a terrific Test career but he was always living in the shadow of Shane. But we still managed to play both of them on occasions and it would be nice to think that both Steve Smith from NSW and Cullen Bailey from SA were competing for the same spot, taking mountains of wickets in Shield cricket.

What are your thoughts on Ricky Ponting’s captaincy?

I find it very difficult to believe we should replace Ponting for this Ashes series. That to me is a joke. If Ricky wants to play – and he does – then he’s got to be captain. Quite frankly I don’t think there’s anyone else who has the capability to do that job right now.I’ve always thought of Simon Katich as one who could’ve captained Australia, had things been a little different. A few years back he got very ill in Sri Lanka when he was just starting to blossom and had that not happened then he may well have been captain before Ricky. But Ricky’s our best player and we’ve got a habit of picking our best player as captain and it’s held us in good stead across a lot of years.

 Is Ponting getting enough strategic help from those around him on the field?

Well, Ian Chappell used to always say, “Eleven heads are better than one.” But at the same time, captaincy’s like computing: if you press the button to send something, then you’re responsible. The captain can have as much input as he likes, but he’s always got to be responsible for pressing that “send” button.

You’ve spent a lot of time in England – what are thoughts on Andrew Strauss’ captaincy?

I think Andrew’s a heck of a good bloke. He’s a very settled bloke, there’s not a heap of flair about him lifestyle-wise. Money and fame wouldn’t affect him in any way, shape or form. He’s well-educated, he’s very capable … He’s just a good bloke.And what he’s done, along with Andy Flower, is to get these blokes working as a unit, believing in each other. And that to me is one of the great arts of captaincy. It’s not about where you set your field – it’s a matter of how you get your blokes working together. And I think Andrew’s very good at that. He’s terrific.