Australian cricket legend Rod Marsh passes away at 74

The cricket community is in mourning after news broke this morning that legendary Australian wicket-keeper Rod Marsh had passed away in Adelaide, aged 74.

Marsh was rushed to Bundaberg Hospital after suffering a serious heart attack at a charity event last Thursday and was transferred to Adelaide earlier this week.

The Armadale-native made his Test debut during the 1970/71 Ashes and went on to play 96 Tests for his country, scoring 3,633 runs and taking a 355 dismissals as a wicket-keeper, which at the time was a world record. He also became the first Australian wicket-keeper to score a Test century, doing so against Pakistan in 1972. His relationship with the game did not end once he retired in 1984, having spent time as a development coach and Australia’s chairman of selectors. He was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2005 and the ICC Hall of Fame four years later.

Tributes have flooded in for the keeping great – who is survived by wife, Roslyn, and three sons, Daniel, Paul, and Jamie – from fans, journalists, former teammates and those he mentored.

The hallowed words “c. Marsh b. Lillee” will long be uttered among Australian cricket faithfuls.