‘You can't be punching walls’: Australian cricket ace admonishes himself after breaking his hand on a dressing-room wall

Australian cricket star Mitchell Marsh has been labeled an “idiot” by national coach Justin Langer after breaking his hand punching a dressing-room wall during a game.

All-rounder and captain of Western Australia Mitchell Marsh let his frustration get the better of him after he was dismissed for 53 runs during a Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania.

Upon returning to the dressing room, he slammed his fist into the wall in anger, leaving himself with a fractured right hand and facing a race to be fit in time for the first test match of Australia’s two-game series against Pakistan on November 21.

The 27-year-old, whose father Geoff also represented Australia on the cricket field, spoke to the press in Australia and admitted his moment of madness only served to damage his own prospects, rather than ease his frustrations.

"It certainly will be an isolated incident... it won't be happening again," he said.

"It's a good lesson for me, hopefully it's a good lesson for other people as well.

"At the end of the day it's a game of cricket. Sometimes you get beaten, you get out, and you can't be punching walls. As a captain, I've done a lot of work in setting a good example on and off the field over the last 18 months since I took over. This is a small hiccup for me."

Marsh was a part of the Australia side for the team’s final Ashes match against England in September, and said he’d received a call from Australian head coach Langer, who told him exactly how he felt about the self-inflicted injury.

"He just told me I'm an idiot basically. He was disappointed for me," said Marsh.

"Just the feeling of letting your teammates down and not being able to be a part of the journey for the next four to six weeks, that was the point I wanted to stress to the lads, that I was sorry."