"I don't think it's great," Head said of his teammate's treatment.

"Obviously we see it a bit with [Indian captain Virat] Kohli as well. But for Mitch, who worked his bum off today, I thought he bowled exceptionally well, I thought he created great pressure, in tough conditions, fought really hard. So I don't think any Australian cricketer in Australia deserves to be booed."

Head added that he understood that the parochial Melbourne crowd would have been disappointed for a hometown player to make way, but reiterated that the maligned Marsh, who only three months ago was named a vice-captain of the new-look Test side, shouldn't be subjected to booing.

"I understand a Victorian crowd, and Petey obviously missing out, but I think it's pretty poor," Head said.

"[Marsh] showed today [that he is] a great team man, great fella, worked his backside off for the boys today, and I think he did a good job, so disappointing, so hopefully that won't be the case for the next few days."

Head said that Marsh was resilient, and therefore wouldn't be overly perturbed by the way he was treated.

"He got on with business, he did his work, he bowled exceptionally well, did the job that was needed for the team, and that's what Mitch has always done," Head said.

"He's always been someone to get the energy around the group, lead from the front. I think he did that in tough conditions, to grab the ball and bowl the way he did, was really good. He created a couple of chances as well."