Born Northam WA
31 December 1958
Geoff Marsh sent out a message when he scored a century at Lord’s at the age of 18. The vice-captain of Australia’s Under-19 team looked set for a glittering career. He was chosen for WA the following season, but it was to be eight frustrating seasons – in and out of that team – before the name Geoff Marsh joined the Test cricket pantheon.
Marsh had an inauspicious debut in the First test against India (1985-86): five and two not out. But in his sixth Test (against New Zealand in Auckland) he scored the first of four Test centuries.
Marsh’s best work for Australia was in One-day cricket, breaking the mould by proving you don’t have to be a dashing strokeplayer to be successful, with an outstanding nine centuries – including two in the winning 1987 World Cup campaign.
Geoff Marsh’s dreams of success were nurtured on his parents’ farm at Wandering, the flames fanned by his father Ted, who built a concrete practice pitch and bought a bowling machine. Here Marsh built the sound technique and rock-solid concentration that were the foundations of his game – the superstructure, an array of drives and cuts.
Marsh scored a century in his maiden Ashes Test (Brisbane, 1986-87); figured in an Ashes record opening stand of 329 with Mark Taylor (Trent Bridge 1989); and his unbeaten 355 ( against South Australia, 1989-90) was the highest score by a WA player in First Class cricket.
He played 50 Tests, scoring 2854 runs at 33.18; his 117 One-day International producing 4357 runs at 39.97.
On top of his success as captain of WA, in his final 37 Tests, marsh was Allan Border’s vice-captain. He was also a national selector and coach when Australia won the 1999 World Cup, and was chosen in WA’s Team of the Century.