[1] Marvell made his debut for Shropshire in the 1994 Minor Counties Championship against Herefordshire but sprung to prominence with a hat-trick against Wales in the same season.
Marvell played Minor counties cricket for Shropshire from 1994 to 2003, which included 32 Minor Counties Championship appearances[2] and 17 MCCA Knockout Trophy appearances with a top score of 141 not out against Oxfordshire in 2001 and best bowling figures of 6–15 against Berkshire in 1995.
[3] While playing for Shropshire, he made his List A debut for the Minor Counties cricket team against Leicestershire in the 1996 Benson & Hedges Cup.
He played a further match in that competition against Durham and was a part of the side that defeated the touring West Indies team at Reading Cricket Club on 13 July 1995.
Success at this level earned him trials with Middlesex where he impressed against Sussex 2nd XI at Southgate Cricket Club on 26–28 June 1995 scoring an unbeaten century in the first innings and taking 5–34 in the second.