Farewell to Rod Marsh - the archetypal Aussie who left a lasting legacy in English cricket

Rod Marsh, who has died in hospital in Adelaide aged 74 following a heart attack last week, did not simply represent Australia in cricket but also in the public imagination. He was the archetypal Australian, stocky, gruff, rough, and tough on initial acquaintance, but he played fair and was ready to have a beer with anyone after a day’s play.

“You cheating South African!” was a typical Marsh greeting, growled from behind the stumps, in this case at Allan Lamb when playing for his adopted England. The Nottinghamshire and England batsman Derek Randall walked out to bat in a Test, greeted Marsh the wicketkeeper, then asked him why he did not reply. “What do you think this is, a f------ garden party?” There will be no more Marshes, in the era of microphones placed inside the stumps.

If Marsh had been simply what he looked however - a typical Aussie - he would never have become England’s first Academy head coach. As such, he was extremely thoughtful, and contributed much to England becoming the equal of Australia for several years from 2005, although the gap - or gulf - has grown again since.

Sir Andrew Strauss was in the first intake of English academy players, sent to the Adelaide headquarters of Australia’s academy because nowhere in England was suitable. The discipline was army-style under Marsh as head coach, but not just loads of fitness training and cricket. 

“I have kept a diary since going to Adelaide with the inaugural Academy intake of 2001. We were ‘encouraged’ to do so by the head coach Rod Marsh, the former Australian wicketkeeper - and I use inverted commas because it was semi-compulsory.” 

It would be no exaggeration to say that diary - and the habit of clarity of thought and vision which it instilled in