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Despite his coach opening the door to an unlikely Ashes recall, Mitch Marsh remains tight-lipped on his prospects of re-entering the Australian Test fold.
The 34-year-old has not played any red-ball cricket since being dropped during the Test series against India last summer.
But his resurgent batting form against the white ball has Australia coach Andrew McDonald contemplating Marsh as a potential Test match option against England.
'We would be comfortable picking someone, and if you want to put a name to it, Mitch Marsh, out of white ball cricket if we felt like that was going to benefit the Test team,' McDonald told reporters on Monday.
'We feel he's batting as well as he has for a long period of time.
'We still haven't given up on Mitch Marsh's Test career. (Chief selector) George Bailey's been on the record around that.'
Mitch Marsh remains tight-lipped on his prospects of re-entering the Australian Test fold (pictured with his partner Greta)
Marsh has enjoyed an excellent year in white ball cricket, but is staying coy on the idea of making a return to feature in this year's Ashes
Marsh previously joked that he hopes to be 'six beers deep' by lunch on the first day of the opening Test and today hilariously joked that he had been 'hoping for a month off'
But Marsh, who had previously stated that he hopes to be 'six beers deep' by lunch on the first day of the opening Test in Perth, deflected questions about his Ashes ambitions.
'I haven't given it much thought to be honest,' he said on Tuesday.
The limited-overs captain said he'd had a busy schedule preparing Australia for the five-match T20 series with India which kicks off in Canberra on Wednesday.
McDonald acknowledged it would be hard for Marsh to balance a Test preparation with his white ball duties, but that he would have two Sheffield Shield rounds to try to impress selectors if he was not picked for the opening Test next month.
'I was hoping for a month off after this to be honest,' Marsh joked.
'Honestly, I haven't given it much thought. I do love playing for Western Australia, so we'll see where it lands at the end of this series.'
While Marsh is by no means a favourite for inclusion in the Test squad, given his lack of preparation, pundits are beginning to talk up his prospects of opening the batting alongside Usman Khawaja.
Earlier in October, former England captain Michael Vaughan called for Marsh to be dropped into the top of the order, with his aggressive batting style seen as a fitting foil for the more reserved Khawaja.
A vacancy could emerge at the top of the order after captain Pat Cummins was ruled out of the first Test through injury.
Should all-rounders Cam Green or Beau Webster be declared fit enough to shoulder some overs lower down the order, makeshift opener Marnus Labuschagne can be expected to return to his preferred spot at No.3.
