Former Australian keeper-batsman and legend, Rod Marsh passed away at the age of 74. Marsh died in an induced coma at Royal Adelaide Hospital after suffering a heart attack in Queensland last week. Marsh was a fierce left-handed batsman and one of the Test cricket’s best wicket keepers. He represented Australia in 96 tests between 1970 and 1984, amassing 3633 runs, including three hundred.
Marsh made his debut in 1970 and retired in 1984 as a wicketkeeper with 355 dismissals. It was a world record at the time. Rod also played in 92 One-Day Internationals, scoring 1225 runs at an average of 20.08 and dismissing 124 batsmen. He made his first-class debut for Western Australia in the the1968-1969 season. He played 257 first-class matches and scored 11,067 runs at 31.17 while completing 869 dismissals.
Head of Australia’s selection panel between 2014 and 2016
Rod Marsh’s partnership with legendary fast bowler Dennis Lillee is the most successful bowler-wicket keeper union in Test history, with ‘caught Marsh, bowled Lillee’ recorded 95 times – a record to date. Between 2014 and 2016, Marsh was the chairman of Australia’s selection panel. He was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, Sport Australia’s Hall of Fame, and the International Cricket Council (ICC) Hall of Fame. He also received the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to sports in 1981.
Rod Marsh: A colossal figure in Australian cricket
Marsh was hailed as a “colossal figure in Australian cricket” by Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins. “Rod was a colossal figure in Australian cricket who gave close to 50 years of incredible service to Australian cricket; from his debut in the Ashes series of 1970/71, through to his time as National Selector, when many of the current group of Australian men’s players came into close contact with him,” Cummins said.
Cummins further added, “He had a way of dealing with you to put you at your ease. I, along with countless other people in Australia, grew up hearing the stories of him as a fearless and tough cricketer; but his swashbuckling batting and his brilliance behind the stumps over more than a decade made him one of the all-time greats of our sport, not just in Australia, but globally.”
Players from the cricketing fraternity mourned the passing away of the legend.