Rodney Marsh, the former Australia wicketkeeper, died of a heart attack last week in Queensland at the age of 74. Marsh died in an Adelaide hospital on Friday morning after suffering a heart attack in Queensland last week. His children Paul, Dan, and Jamie, as well as his wife Ros, survive him.
Marsh, an aggressive left-handed batsman and one of Test cricket’s best wicketkeepers, played 96 Tests for Australia between 1970 and 1984, amassing 3633 runs, including three hundred. Marsh held the world record for most Test dismissals (355) at the time of his retirement. Marsh also played in 92 One-Day Internationals, scoring 1225 runs at 20.08 and dismissing 124 batsmen.
With 95 occurrences of ‘caught Marsh, bowled Lillee,’ his relationship with famed fast bowler Dennis Lillee is the most productive bowler-wicketkeeper pairing in Test history. Their record stands today, despite the fact that they retired together in 1984.
Marsh was a household name with Lillee, Jeff Thomson, and the Chappell brothers, and was a tremendously popular member of Australia’s winning team of the 1970s.
After retiring from playing, he continued to make an impact on the game by leading the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide, where he worked with players like Ricky Ponting and helped usher in a powerful period of Australian cricket.
After retiring and becoming a selector, Rodney Marsh went on to lead Australia’s selection panel from 2014 to 2016.
Marsh is a member of the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, Sport Australia’s Hall of Fame, and the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame, and he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to sport in 1981.
After retiring and becoming a selector, Marsh went on to lead Australia’s selection panel from 2014 to 2016.
Marsh is a member of the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, Sport Australia’s Hall of Fame, and the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame, and he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to sport in 1981.
“This is a tremendously sad day for Australian cricket and for all those who loved and admired Rod Marsh,” said Cricket Australia chairman Dr Lachlan Henderson. “Rod will be forever remembered for the way he played the game and the pleasure he brought crowds as a member of some great Australian teams. ‘Caught Marsh, bowled Lillee’ has iconic status in our game.
“Rod also made an enormous contribution to the game by identifying, coaching and mentoring many future stars in his various roles as coach and director at cricket academies in Australia and other cricket playing nations.
“Our thoughts are with Rod’s wife Ros, his sons Paul, Dan and Jamie and the extended Marsh family, his many friends and teammates with whom he created so many special memories,” added Henderson.
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