Rod Marsh

Rod Marsh

Rodney William Marsh MBE (born 4 November 1947) is a former Australian wicketkeeper.

A colourful character, Marsh had a Test career spanning from the 1970–71 to the 1983–84 Australian season. In 96 Tests, he set a world record of 355 wicketkeeping dismissals, the same number his pace bowling Western Australian team-mate Dennis Lillee achieved with the ball. The pair were known for their bowler-wicketkeeper partnership, which yielded 95 Test wickets, a record for any such combination, and made their debuts and retired together. Wisden stated that "Few partnerships between bowler and wicket-keeper have had so profound an impact on the game."

Marsh had a controversial start to his Test career, selected on account of his batting abilities. Sections of the media lampooned Marsh’s glovework, dubbing him “Iron Gloves” after sloppy catching in his debut Test. His keeping improved over time and by the end of his career he was regarded as one of the finest in the history of the sport. He was widely regarded for his sense of team discipline, in particular after Bill Lawry controversially declared the Australian first innings closed in the Fifth Test of the 1970–71 series at the MCG with Marsh just eight runs short of a century. Greg Chappell said he was one of only two players he knew who would kill to get into the Australian Test team, the other being Ian Redpath.