Cricket World Player Of The Week - Shaun Marsh

Cricket World Player Of The Week - Shaun Marsh

Shaun Marsh scored a century on debut to see him named Player of the Week

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Three men have scored centuries in international cricket this week. Shaun Marsh and Mike Hussey both hit centuries in Australia's first innings 411 for seven declared against Sri Lanka, while last week's player of the week Mohammad Hafeez made one against Zimbabwe.

Shaun Marsh's debut 141 earns him the award this week, coming as it did in the absence of Ricky Ponting and off the back of repeated calls for him to be included in Australia's Test team.

The 28 year-old left-hander, born in Narrogin, Western Australia, made his state debut at the age of 15 for their Under-17 side and progressed seemlessly through their age group setup before making his first-class debut in March 2001. The father of Geoff Marsh, he has spoken recently of the fact that he took playing for Australia for granted and assumed that after, his meteoric rise, he would walk straight into their Test team.

However, partly beacause of Australia's strong side and partly because of his failure to score the weight of runs required, he has had to wait more than a decade for his call-up.

He bided his time getting to know his game and playing for King's XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League, and has made sure that he took his first opportunity when it eventually came.

His success in this match will put pressure on Ricky Ponting when he returns and the current situation is eerily similar to when Nasser Hussain selflessly retired to make way for a young Andrew Strauss.

© Cricket World 2011