Australian batter Shaun Marsh retires from first-class cricket

Shaun Marsh on Friday announced his retirement from first-class cricket after 22 years of service for Western Australia (WA) at Sheffield Shield level, and 38 Test matches for Australia.

Marsh made his first-class debut for Western Australia in 2001 when he was 17 years old. Last season, in his brother Mitchell Marsh’s absence, Marsh led the team to the Sheffield Shield championship.

With 8,347 runs, including 20 centuries, Marsh ends the Shield as WA’s third-highest run-scorer. He has played in 122 games, two more than the previous captain Tom Moody in WA history. He made his ODI debut for Australia several months later against West Indies where his 81 from 97 balls earned him player of the match honours, but it would be a further four years before he earned a Test call-up.

Marsh’s retirement is effective immediately, so he won’t take part in Western Australia’s attempt to retain its crown. He had just returned to Perth club cricket following a fractured finger. Next week, they play Victoria at the WACA, and then they host the championship beginning on March 23.

“This year in particular has been really hard. It wasn’t the way I planned it after winning the Shield final last year. I had great expectations of myself to win another Shield but through injuries, it hasn’t worked out how I wanted it to,” Marsh was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

“I batted for about 20 minutes and the quicks came over… I said to V. [WA coach Adam Voges] that I’m done and wanted to do my weights [session]. I probably did half my weights [session]. I walked out and thought, ‘that’s not me’. Over the last 24 hours, it hit home that my time is done. It’s been an amazing journey, never in my wildest dreams did I think that I’d be here for 22 years and that’s something that I’m very proud of,” Marsh said.

Marsh gave a special tribute to his father Geoff Marsh, an ex-Australian coach and Test opener. “That’s where I found the love of the game as a young kid when I was watching dad play. From a young age, all I wanted to do was be like him and he’s had a massive impact on my career,” he said.

Long regarded as a Test star, Marsh had an impressive debut in 2011 with a century against Sri Lanka in Pallekele after scoring his first first-class century at the age of 19 against a potent New South Wales team that included Steve and Mark Waugh. He was expected to succeed Ricky Ponting at No. 3 but had a disastrous run of form against India at home in 2011-12, scoring only 17 runs in six innings.

Marsh’s highest Test score of 182 was made against West Indies in Hobart in 2015. Marsh ended with 2,265 Test runs to his name at an average of 34.31, playing his last Test in January 2019 against India. Marsh is set to continue in the Big Bash League (BBL). He has one season left on his deal with Melbourne Renegades.