Kandy, Sep 6: Australian batsman Shaun Marsh, who will make his Test debut in Kandy on Thursday, credits his Western Australia coach, Tom Moody, for turning his cricketing life around.

"I remember when he took the reins as coach. I had a meeting with him and we sort of sat down and he panned out things for me. He pretty much said, `You can stay with me and work hard and do things my way, and I'll make you a better cricketer, or you can walk out the door'," Fox Sports quoted Marsh, as saying.

"I owe Tom a great deal for that, and I certainly turned things around when he took over," he added.

The 28-year-old, who has battled injuries and inconsistency in the past, further said that the last three or four years have been his best in first-class cricket.

"The one thing I'm still lacking is converting starts to big scores. I feel as though I've improved there definitely, but I've got to get those big hundreds," he said.

Marsh will fill-in for Ricky Ponting, who has flown home for the birth of his second child.

But a strong performance may see him stay in the team when Ponting returns, as he hopes, for the third Test.

Marsh can beat Usman Khawaja to the No. 6 spot, as the latter needs a big score to cement his place. (ANI)