46 Facts About Rod Marsh

Rodney William Marsh was an Australian professional cricketer who played as a wicketkeeper for the Australian national team.

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

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

Rod Marsh's 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.

Rod Marsh 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 influenced a shift in momentum in several occasions where Australia would go on to win matches from precarious situations.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rod Marsh's 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.

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

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

Rod Marsh and Knott did concede the same number of byes in the series: 44.

Rod Marsh became an integral part of the team as the side improved during the 1972 tour of England.

Rod Marsh was deemed a strong gatekeeper to Australia's baggy green culture and was known for his authorship of Australian team victory song "Under the Southern Cross I Stand" which he co-opted from the original version of Henry Lawson's 1887 poem "Flag of the Southern Cross".

Rod Marsh initially had the role of leading the team in singing it, and on his retirement he passed it on to Allan Border.

Rod Marsh hit 236 against the tourists for Western Australia, the best score of his career.

Rod Marsh took 45 dismissals in those two series, including a world-record 26 catches in six Tests against the West Indies.

Rod Marsh scored an unbeaten 110 in the second innings of the Centenary Test against England in 1977, becoming the first Australian wicketkeeper to score a Test century against England.

Rod Marsh became the first keeper to reach 350 dismissals.

Rod Marsh's retirement coincided with those of Dennis Lillee and former Australia captain Greg Chappell.

Powerfully built, Rod Marsh was regarded as an all rounder for the majority of his career.

Rod Marsh raised the role of wicketkeeper to a more prominent status in a team with his acrobatic diving, raucous appeals and habit of throwing a ball high into the air upon completing a dismissal.

Rod Marsh had nine wins and seven losses in 20 Shield matches as captaincy, and seven from nine matches in the limited overs competition.

Rod Marsh was an effective player in ODI matches, contributing as a keeper and a lower order batsman.

Rod Marsh was a coach at the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide since its inception and was its director from 1990 to 2001.

Rod Marsh was the Director of the England and Wales Cricket Board national academy from October 2001 to September 2005.

Rod Marsh later criticised the ECB for releasing Troy Cooley, who had trained England's four pronged pace battery, and attacked Duncan Fletcher's selection of Geraint Jones as the wicket keeper ahead of Chris Read.

Rod Marsh once declared his cricketing allegiance to England and was at one time a selector for the English team.

Rod Marsh had worked with the Global Cricket Academy in Dubai.

Rod Marsh was included in a part-time capacity as a part of the Cricket Australia national selection panel in 2011.

Rod Marsh was appointed chairman of selectors for Cricket Australia on 2 May 2014, replacing John Inverarity.

Rod Marsh was previously Cricket Australia's manager of elite coaching development.

Rod Marsh felt the heat at times from former cricketers including Michael Slater for not selecting Usman Khawaja in the Australian playing XI especially during the Chappell-Hadlee ODI series in February 2016 in New Zealand.

On 16 November 2016, Rod Marsh resigned as chairman of selectors, after a series defeat to South Africa.

Rod Marsh was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1982 New Year Honours and inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.

Rod Marsh was named as one of Wisden's Cricketer of the Year in 1982.

Rod Marsh received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000 and a Centenary Medal in 2001.

Rod Marsh received Honorary Life Membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1988.

On 24 February 2022, Rod Marsh was left in a critical condition following a heart attack in Bundaberg, Queensland, whilst en route to a charity event hosted by Queensland Bulls Masters.

Rod Marsh died eight days later, on 4 March 2022, in Adelaide, South Australia, at the age of 74.

Rod Marsh's death came on the same day as that of fellow Australian cricket icon Shane Warne, who had paid tribute to Marsh in a tweet a few hours prior to his own death in Thailand.