“Devastated, we have lost a legend”: Ricky Ponting mourns the loss of Legendary Australian wicket-keeper Rod Marsh

Former Australian wicket-keeper Rod Marsh passed away due to a heart attack and Ricky Ponting is devastated about it.

Legendary Australian wicket-keeper Rod Marsh has passed away at the age of 74 in Adelaide. He suffered a heart attack last week in Bundaberg (Queensland) but did not get better. Marsh was with Bulls Masters officials John Glanville and David Hillier when he suffered a heart attack. He was taken directly to the hospital.

Rodney Marsh is considered one of Australia’s most respected wicket-keepers. He had a then world-record tally of 355 dismissals in his Test career, which lasted for 14 years. Marsh scored 3,633 Test runs in addition to having 1,225 ODI runs under his belt. In first-class cricket, he had scored over 11,000 runs.

Ricky Ponting devastated over Rod Marsh’s death

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has expressed his grief on Marsh’s death. He referred to Rod Marsh as a legend and one of the best people he met. Ricky Ponting is considered as the greatest Aussie skipper, and he did work a lot with Rod Marsh in his career. Apart from Ponting, former all-rounder Shane Watson also mourned the loss of Rod Marsh.

“Devastated, we have lost a legend. Rod Marsh was a great player, a great coach and one of the best people I have ever met. My thoughts are with Ros, Paul, Dan and Jamie,” Ponting tweeted.

Devastated, we have lost a legend. Rod Marsh was a great player, a great coach and one of the best people I have ever met. My thoughts are with Ros, Paul, Dan and Jamie.

— Ricky Ponting AO (@RickyPonting) March 4, 2022

Rod Marsh comes from a sporting family. His elder brother Graham was an outstanding professional golfer for Australia and won eleven times on the European Tour. Both brothers represented WA at cricket at the schoolboy level.

Marsh made his debut for West Perth’s first XI as a specialist batsman, as regular wicketkeeper Gordon Becker also played in the match. He then joined the University club in order to improve his keeping skills. Marsh was picked for his first Test in Brisbane against England in 1970-71 more for his batting than his wicketkeeping.

Rod Marsh is a part of the Australian Hall of Fame as well as the ICC Hall of Fame.