Ambitious WA all-rounder Mitch Marsh rejects Indian Premier League for English county cricket Mitch Marsh is forgoing the riches of the IPL. PRECOCIOUS emerging cricket talent Mitch Marsh has turned his back on a lucrative Indian Premier League contract in a determined pursuit of his dream to play Tests for Australia. The belligerent West Australian all-rounder was expected to be a highly sought after star in the IPL player-auction next month. But, Marsh has told WA cricket officials that he wants to concentrate on becoming more consistent with bat and ball in four-day first-class cricket to press for Test selection over next Australian summer and the 2015 Ashes series in England. Marsh may have walked away from as much as $400,000 if he had nominated for the rich IPL auction. He is understood to have consulted a host of his closest confidants in making his ambitious plan to concentrate on first-class cricket for the next year. They include his state coach Justin Langer, personal mentor Tom Moody and his dad and former Test opener and one-time Australian team coach Geoff Marsh. Marsh is now on the lookout to join an England county club and wants to be available for an entire northern hemisphere summer this year when the rich IPL Twenty20 series is in full swing. Marsh, 22, had been a contracted player with the now defunct Pune Warriors and was tipped to be a prize scalp in the bidding war for international stars at the auction on February 12 and 13. He is the younger brother of recently recalled Australian Test squad member Shaun Marsh. The youngest Marsh is back to full fitness after overcoming a serious hamstring injury last year that initially required surgery and then a rigorous three-month rehabilitation before his playing return in late October. He is now back to full fitness and wants a heavy schedule four-day matches in England as well as next season's Sheffield Shield campaign to boost his bold Test selection bid. Geoff Marsh confirmed the plan to play increased amounts of the longer forms of cricket rather than the big-earning Twenty20 formats, especially in India as well as the Caribbean and Bangladesh leagues. "Mitch wants to play Test cricket and he has decided his best chances will be to play a lot more first-class matches than the short forms," he said. He's had a pretty good Shield season so far and will now look for a county deal to play in England. He could earn the big bucks and it's a great opportunity and there's heaps of fun and success on offer if he got into the IPL again. But it's going to be important that he plays really good first-class cricket and has a good Shield season with Western Australia next summer to press for Test selection. Mitch Marsh has scored 307 runs in five first-class Shield games so far this season after making only 303 last summer at an average of 21 across seven matches. He doubles as an exciting fast-bowling potential with 45 first-class wickets at an average of 27 under his belt in 32 matches. An inconsistency in his performances is the young star's biggest flaw early into his blossoming career that regular long format of matches could rectify over the next 12-14 months ahead of an announcement of Australia's Ashes defence team in next year. After successive half-centuries of 58 and 62 against England in his first-class comeback in late October Marsh had Shield scores of 20, 19, 2, 65 not out, 4, 96 and 27 ahead of the annual Big Bash series with his WA-based franchise Perth Scorchers. In his seven Twnety20 outings with Perth's Scorchers he has managed 160 runs at an average of 32 and a strike-rate of 112. He hasn't been damaging with the ball collecting only four Big Bash wickets from 16 overs at a hefty average of 39 and an economy rate of almost 10 runs an over.