Shaun Marsh stood like a statue for a fleeting moment, transfixed to the Abu Dhabi deck, as Mir Hamza wheeled away in celebration
After Hamza's peach of a delivery wiped out Marsh's off stump, it was almost as though the veteran Australian batsman knew something we didn't - but had tried to press a case for for years
Is this the last time Shaun Marsh features in a Test match for Australia? It would seem logical to some, and short-sighted to others - but a seemingly painless outcome all the same
It's not that he's a player who isn't up to the task of international cricket.It would be foolish to claim so
In June, Marsh scored two centuries on Australia's white-ball tour of England, which ended in a soul-destroying series whitewash by the hosts
MORE: Marsh fails again, Aussies facing almost certain defeat in second Test | How long do Australian selectors give Shaun and Mitch Marsh? Just before the Test series against Pakistan, he scored 94 on a volatile wicket against a Pakistan A side in Dubai
Positive signs were there.However, these aren't the signs of a player not up to the rigours of the international game
It's just another horrible form slump - but that's the damning word.Another.This time, could it be fatal? Dropping Marsh would be a tough call for coach Justin Langer to make, considering how far back the pair go in Western Australia's cricket ranks
As WA coach, Langer pushed Marsh hard, trying to reshape his mental approach while also making technical changes to his game
It came at a good time for Marsh, who had been caught up in some disciplinary dramas - he was among the players suspended during Perth Scorchers' 2012 Champions League campaign, while he had also been suspended after a boozy night with state teammate Luke Pomersbach
Off-field drama aside, Marsh's recent numbers at Test level make for horrific reading
Since his Ashes hundred in Sydney, Marsh has averaged 13.42.South Africa was more miss than hit (40, 33, 24, 1, 26, 0, 16, 7), Dubai was rough (7, 0) and Abu Dhabi was downright bad (3, 4)
Just 20 batsmen have scored a hundred on Test debut for Australia - and Marsh was one of them, against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in 2011
From there, as a 28-year-old, he carried all the hallmarks required to build a long career under the baggy green cap
He followed up his Pallekele ton with 81 in Colombo, and won a ticket to Australia's two-Test tour of South Africa
And then, everything began to unwind.In Cape Town, he scored 44 in the first innings as Australia looked comfortable after knocking over the hosts for 96
Then, Australia were skittled for 47.Marsh, having suffered a back injury, came out at No
10 and copped a second-ball duck courtesy of a rampant Vernon Philander.He was sent home, recovered, missed several Shield games for Western Australia and missed Australia's two-Test series against New Zealand
Then, India arrived - and so did Marsh, back at first-drop.It was a disaster, and it led to a two-year Test hiatus
Marsh was a shadow of the player that strutted around in Sri Lanka just four months earlier, and with Michael Clarke (626), Ricky Ponting (544), Michael Hussey (293) and David Warner (266) setting the world on fire, Marsh looked horribly out of place
An okay-ish Shield season in 2013/14 - 401 runs from seven matches at 36.45 - was the spark to a shock recall for Australia's crucial tour of South Africa following their Ashes whitewash
At the time of his selection, he had scored 275 runs at 34.37 with one century.He rewarded the faith with a brilliant hundred in the first Test in Johannesburg, but scored a pair in Port Elizabeth, and lost his spot to Shane Watson
He missed the UAE tour against Pakistan, and earned a recall for the final three Tests against India at home
He ran himself out for 99 at the MCG, and scored 73 in Sydney.He earned a ticket to the West Indies, where he scored 112 runs, but he would only feature in one Test on the 2015 Ashes tour to England - and it was arguably Australia's worst in a generation, as Stuart Broad ripped the Aussies apart at Trent Bridge
It seemed that might have been his last chance - but he replaced the injured Usman Khawaja for the inaugural day-night Test against New Zealand in 2015-16, and scored 49 second-innings runs to help Australia win a close one
He was in and out of the side.It would frustrate anyone, let alone a player battling for his Test career
He shared what still remains as the sixth-highest partnership in Test history with Adam Voges against the Windies at Hobart as he scored 182 - but got dropped
He came back for the third Test of Australia's tour of Sri Lanka, scored a century, went on to the first home Test against South Africa at the WACA, struggled to get going in Australia's big defeat - and got dropped
He played all four Tests in India, and saved the third in Ranchi with Peter Handscomb - but missed selection for the Bangladesh tour
A wonderful Ashes series followed, where he was Australia's second-top-scorer with 445 runs and two tons
But now we're here, back talking about his much-maligned Test career yet again.For a player that can so easily look the part on one day, he can also look like he's missing a day later
Considering Australian bowlers Mitchell Starc (11.67), Nathan Lyon (6.5) and Peter Siddle (5) all have a higher series average than him in the UAE, this truly could be the end
In the absence of Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, Marsh needed to stand up
He did in England wearing canary yellow, but in the UAE, he has fallen over for what could prove to be the final straw
Shane Warne believes neither Shaun nor brother Mitchell deserve a spot in Australia's Test XI
Matt Renshaw is waiting in the wings, Marnus Labuchagne and Travis Head haven't been tested on home decks yet, while the likes of Handscomb, Alex Doolan, Cameron White, Callum Ferguson, Jake Lehmann and George Bailey all could give a fair shake of the sauce bottle
Then, you've got precocious star Will Pucovski.Regardless, Michael Hussey said Marsh - who is now 35 - is running out of time
"At the end of the day, you do need to be scoring runs.there's going to be a lot of discussion about his place in the team," Hussey said on Wisden Radio
"When he's on song, he's just unstoppable and looks a supreme batsman.But then when he does start having a run of low scores, he gets into this hole and he finds it extremely difficult to work his way out of it
"Once you start getting into your 30s, mid-30s, you can't afford to have a run like that
"Everyone starts talking about your position in the team.is that the end of your career? That extra pressure builds up on you as well
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