Marsh a beacon in Australia's gloom

It's tempting to think Australia should have stayed at home. After losing their main allrounder in a training mishap before they even departed for Zimbabwe, they lost their captain, lost their pride, lost their No.1 ranking and lost the series. At least if they fly home on Qantas they will be reminded they are not responsible for Australia's biggest recent losses.

But after a rare winter off, Australia needed this run. They should be better for it. The problem is that next comes the UAE, where their befuddlement against spin will only be more apparent. If Sean Williams and Prosper Utseya troubled Australia's batsmen, how will they handle Saeed Ajmal, if he plays, and the other Pakistan spinners?

Yet for all they were outspun, outswung and outplayed, the tour wasn't an out-and-out disaster for Australia. There were positives, not least Nathan Lyon grabbing the one-day chance he was belatedly given. He was Australia's top wicket taker for the series and even in the final, when he went wicketless, he drew false strokes and created half-chances. He has earned a full time one-day place.

Even more exciting for Australia's long-term prospects was the way Mitchell Marsh came of age as an international player. That Shane Watson rolled his ankle on a ball at training in Brisbane before the team departed meant that Marsh became Australia's key batting allrounder. First at No.3 and then down the order, he showed his clean hitting and classy strokeplay.

The expectations on Marsh have been high since he was a teenager. At 18, he was described by his Western Australia coach Mickey Arthur as the only player in world cricket who had the potential to bat in the top five and be the fourth seamer, a la Jacques Kallis. That was four years ago. There have been speed-bumps along the way, but in Zimbabwe, Marsh was close to Australia's most important player.

Marsh now appears a certainty to be picked in Australia's Test squad to play Pakistan next month. The touring party is likely to be announced on Monday and Marsh's ODI form has boosted his cause. Choosing players for Test cricket based on one-day performances is risky, but his first-class 211 against India A in July suggests his red-ball form is just as good.

As a bowler, he took the new ball in the second half of the tri-series and created a few chances. But he remains a batting allrounder, and it is unlikely that Marsh will find a place in Australia's Test XI if Watson is fit. Watson is due to begin bowling again in the next few days after damaging ligaments in his ankle. "I did a decent job of it," Watson told News Ltd this weekend.

There is exactly one month until the first ODI against Pakistan in Sharjah - a T20 in Dubai opens the series two days earlier - and Watson and Clarke have some rehab work ahead of them. Clarke's hamstring problem is the major concern. It was understandable that he wanted to make the tour after the long break, but rushing back against Zimbabwe could yet prove a costly decision.

Clarke's growing susceptibility to injuries after long flights is a worry for Australia. It may be that after the World Cup he needs to consider stepping away from ODI cricket to give himself the best chance of being fit for Australia's Test commitments. At least the Tests against Pakistan come in the second half of the UAE tour, giving him extra recovery time if required.

Clarke's importance was clear during the loss to Zimbabwe. In turning conditions against a spin-heavy attack, he top scored with an unbeaten 68 that could have been more but for his decision to retire hurt. The highest score from the rest of Australia's top six was 15. That Australia struggled on spinning surfaces was no surprise, but their battle against reverse swing was also a worry.

The home World Cup next year will not provide excessive spin but swing, both regular and reverse, will play a part. Dale Steyn showed in the final that a top-class practitioner of reverse swing can be just as challenging for the Australians as a good spinner. His removal of Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell from consecutive balls in the 29th over turned the final.

Australia's coach Darren Lehmann had a straightforward answer when asked after the match what this series had shown Australia needed to work on. "It's just going to be continual improvement of playing spin and playing reverse [swing]," Lehmann said. Come World Cup time, Australia might enjoy the conditions more than in Zimbabwe, but so too will Steyn and Co.

There were other positives for Australia besides Marsh and Lyon. Finch continued to perform at the top of Australia's order. It is hard to imagine that in a World Cup top three likely to contain David Warner and Watson, neither of them might be Australia's most important batsman. Finch's 102 against South Africa was his fourth ODI hundred in 12 months; he averaged exactly 50 for the tour.

Phillip Hughes was good, and managed two fifties from his four games, but seems destined to miss out on a permanent place, such are Australia's top-order options. Steven Smith failed to really grab his chance and might find himself again on the fringes when other batsmen return. The fast bowlers toiled hard for little reward, although the conditions often did not help.

Questions remain in Australia's World Cup planning, including how best to balance a line-up that features a surfeit of openers and several mercurial allrounders, but November's home series against South Africa will go some way to answering them. There could hardly be a better team for Australia to test themselves against in the World Cup conditions.

For now, South Africa are the No. 2 ODI team in the world. Australia flew to Harare as No. 1, but arrive home as No.4 after losing to Zimbabwe for the first time in 31 years. It continued their trend of struggling in foreign conditions - in the past two years Australia have won 78% of ODIs at home and only 43% away. Good thing for them the World Cup is at home.