Former Australia wicketkeeper and England selector Rod Marsh dies aged 74

Former Australia wicketkeeper and England selector Rod Marsh has died at the age of 74.

Marsh had been in a critical condition after suffering a heart attack in Bundaberg, Queensland, last week, and died in South Australia’s capital Adelaide on Friday morning local time.

Marsh made 96 Test appearances for Australia and ended his career with a then-record 355 dismissals.

He made a further 92 appearances in white-ball cricket for his country in an international career that lasted from 1970 to 1984.

Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins led a chorus of tributes to Marsh, calling him a “colossal figure in Australian cricket”.

He said in a statement released by Cricket Australia (CA): “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.

“When I think of Rod, I think of a generous and larger-than-life character who always had a life-loving, positive and relaxed outlook, and his passing leaves a massive void in the Australian cricket community.”

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called Marsh a “fierce competitor and a fine sportsman”.

He wrote on Twitter: “Very sad to hear of the passing of Rod Marsh. As a kid he was my favourite player. He was part of one of the most exciting eras in Australian and world cricket. He will be remembered as one of Australia’s greatest ever Test cricket players.

“He was a fierce competitor and a fine sportsman who valued what the game stood for. Rod Marsh was a proud Western Australian and an absolute Aussie legend. My deepest sympathies go to his