Two Australian cricketing giants leave us with unmatched legacies

Cricket and the wider world have been stunned by the sudden loss of two greats of the Australian and international game, Shane Warne and Rod Marsh. I was fortunate to have seen them both play and watching their on-field personae gave some clues as to their off-field ones.

Warne’s hunting down of batsmen, physically and psychologically, implied a shrewd operator who pushed boundaries. He admitted as much, saying that he would not have liked to face himself on the pitch. He was, for many, the finest leg spin bowler of all time.

Former Australian captain, leg spinner and celebrated commentator Richie Benaud had no doubt, pointing out that when he took his final, 248th, Test wicket, he had played 63 Tests. It took Warne the same number to reach 300 Test wickets.

The art of leg spin bowling is the most difficult variety to master, especially in achieving consistent accuracy. Strong wrists and fingers are needed. In Warne’s case, these were developed after, aged six, he broke both of his legs and used his wrists to propel himself around on a trolley. Out of adversity came strength. However, Warne’s ambition was to play Australian rules football in Melbourne, but he did not make the grade. What a loss to cricket he would have been.

Unlike Warne, young Marsh was determined to make cricket his life, rising from the age of eight through the various cricket grades in Perth. Despite his tough and craggy competitiveness, Marsh had a keen sense of the spirit of cricket. This was apparent in several events. First, he was the wicketkeeper when his captain, Greg Chappell, ordered his younger brother, Trevor Chappell, to bowl the last ball of a match against New Zealand using an underarm delivery. This deprived the striker the