Australia’s Mitchell Marsh doesn’t have the stomach for the first one-day international against India after coach Justin Langer told reporters on Thursday that the all-rounder had been struck down with a bout of gastritis. With Marsh forced to sit out the opener of a three-match series, Australia called uncapped batsman Ashton Turner into the squad as cover for Saturday’s Sydney Cricket Ground contest. “He’s got gastritis so he’s spent two days in hospital,” Langer told a news conference. “We’ll just have to wait and see how he recovers but he certainly won’t play this first one.” Turner has deputised for Marsh as captain of Western Australia while the all-rounder was on international duty and Langer said the 25-year-old was a “great athlete”. “He’s in great form, he finishes off the innings well,” said Langer, a former Western Australia coach. “He’s a lead athlete in the field and he’s also a captain. He’s a good thinker of the game like most great finishers and a good leader, a really good person around the group. I’m very excited to see him coming in.” Marsh and his batsman brother Shaun were dropped from the test side for upcoming matches against Sri Lanka on Wednesday after Australia lost a home series to India for the first time when Virat Kohli’s men prevailed 2-1. Langer, a close friend of their father Geoff “Swampy” Marsh, said it had been a tough decision to make. “That’s what leadership’s about, you’ve got make tough calls,” he added. “I’ve known them since they were kids, Geoff Marsh is one of my best friends and coached with me in Western Australia. “But at the end of the day, the boys know, and Swampy knows, that it’s a tough business and if you are not performing, you don’t get picked.” Langer also tersely dismissed the notion that selectors were excluding batsman Glenn Maxwell from the Test squad for reasons other than his form out in the middle. Published in Daily Times, January 11th 2019.