Mitch Marsh turns back on lucrative IPL to bolster Test chances

West Australian all-rounder Mitch Marsh has turned his back on a lucrative Indian Premier League contract and wants to concentrate on becoming more consistent with bat and ball in four-day first-class cricket to press for Test selection.

Marsh has told WA cricket officials that he wants to concentrate on Test selection over next Australian summer and the 2015 Ashes series in England.

Marsh may have walked away from as much as 400,000 dollar if he had been nominated for the rich IPL auction.

He is understood to have consulted 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, News.com.au reports.

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.

Geoff Marsh confirmed the plan to play increased amounts of the longer forms of cricket rather than the big-earning Twenty20 formats.