Born Perth WA
4 November 1947
Rodney Marsh became a history-making wicketkeeper during a colourful Test career spanning 14 years from 1970 – 1984.
In 96 Test matches he made a world record 355 dismissals – coincidentally the same number as the Test bowling mark of his Western Australia team-mate Dennis Lillee.
Not a generally accepted selection as Australia’s wicketkeeper for the 1970-71 series against England, he soon lived down the nickname of “Iron Gloves” and went on to become one of the most respected of all Australian wicketkeepers.
Marsh worked assiduously to overcome a weight problem early in his career, but his short, powerful stature was well-suited to the wicketkeeping craft.
He was very fast on his feet and this, combined with superb anticipation and reflexes, enable him to cover much more ground than his contemporaries.
His acrobatic dives, sure hands, raucous appeals and habit of triumphantly throwing the ball in the air after completing a dismissal were trademarks of one of the sport’s great characters.
Marsh also possessed outstanding talents as a red-blooded batsman and leader with real flair. He was first picked for WA as a batsman and responded with a century in the second innings of his debut match.
He became the first Australian wicketkeeper to score a Test century and his 3633 runs in Tests included three centuries, the first of them made in the 1977 Centenary Test in Melbourne.
Marsh captained WA 20 times and led the State to a Sheffield Shield-Gillette Cup double in 1976-77.