Rod Marsh

Rodney William Marsh (4 November 1947 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian professional cricketer who played as a wicketkeeper for the Australian national team.

Marsh was born in the Perth suburb of Armadale on 4 November 1947 to Barbara and Ken Marsh.

Marsh played backyard cricket with his older brother Graham, who became a professional golfer and won eleven times on the European Tour.

Both brothers represented Western Australia at cricket at schoolboy level.

Marsh played his first competitive match at the age of eight for the Armadale under-16s, where he also kept wicket.

At thirteen he captained the state schoolboys' team, and joined the West Perth district club.

When he debuted for West Perth's first XI he was a specialist batsman, as Western Australia wicketkeeper Gordon Becker also represented the club.

In order to further his keeping, Marsh joined the University club.

He formed a bond with Dennis Lillee in 1966 at a time when Marsh was serving as a trainee teacher with the University Club.

Since then, he has been dubbed as Lillee's partner-in-crime by pundits.

Marsh made his first-class debut for Western Australia, again as a specialist batsman, against the touring West Indies in 1968–69.

He had an unusual match, scoring 0 and 104.

His whirlwind knock of 104 on state debut against a fancied West Indian bowling attack which comprised Garfield Sobers, Charlie Griffith and Wes Hall.

Marsh replaced the retired Becker from the 1969–70 season.

At the time, Australia was touring India and South Africa with Brian Taber and Ray Jordon as the team's wicketkeepers.

Marsh had a Test career spanning from the 1970–71 to the 1983–84 Australian seasons.

In 96 Tests, he set a world record of 355 wicketkeeping dismissals, the same number his pace bowling Western Australian teammate Dennis Lillee achieved with the ball.

The pair were known for their bowler–wicketkeeper partnership, which yielded 95 Test wickets, a record for any such combination.

They made their Test debuts in the same series and retired from Test cricket in the same match.

Wisden stated that "Few partnerships between bowler and wicket-keeper have had so profound an impact on the game."

Marsh had a controversial start to his Test career, selected on account of his batting abilities.

Sections of the media lampooned Marsh's glovework, dubbing him "Iron Gloves" after sloppy catching in his debut Test.

His keeping improved over time and by the end of his career he was regarded as one of the finest in the history of the sport.

He was widely regarded for his sense of team discipline, in particular after Bill Lawry controversially declared the Australian first innings closed in the Fifth Test of the 1970–71 series at the MCG with Marsh eight runs short of a century.

He was known for his athletic keeping.

He was nicknamed Australia's marshal due to his ability to uplift the spirit and energy within the Australian side by having some word with opponent batsmen during his playing days which had also influenced a shift in momentum in several occasions where Australia would go on to win matches from precarious situations.

In the autumn of 1970, an Australian second team toured New Zealand with John MacLean as wicketkeeper.

Therefore, Marsh was behind these players in the pecking order.

However, he was a controversial selection for the first Test of the 1970–71 Ashes series, replacing Taber; Marsh was selected for his batting.

The media was quick to criticise Marsh's glovework in his early career, dubbing him "Iron Gloves" after he missed a number of catches.

Even on his debut in the First Test in the 1970–71 Ashes series he took four catches in his first innings.

His batting proved invaluable on a number of occasions and in the Fifth Test he equalled the record for the highest Test innings by an Australian keeper, set by Don Tallon.

The end of the innings was controversial; the captain Bill Lawry declared with Marsh eight runs short of a century so he could get an extra hour of bowling before stumps.

When questioned by the press about his lost chance to make an historic century Marsh said he had gained forty runs instead of missing eight as he thought Lawry should have declared an hour earlier.

Even though Marsh was unbeaten on 92 before declaration was made, Marsh emphasized first priority for the team before personal milestones and achievements.

His gesture eventually would help him to win accolades and also to stamp a sense of authority and loyalty among the fans as well as among the teammates.

Marsh later admitted that he was underprepared as a wicketkeeper, but he learned from watching his English counterpart Alan Knott.

He and Knott did, however, concede the same number of byes in the series: 44.

He continued to maintain his work ethics when he refused to sign a cricket bat in 2009 which had the signature of former New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns, with the latter being later found guilty of involving in a spot-fixing scandal.

In 2009, Marsh was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.