first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
in six matches from 1900–01 to 1902–03. A right-arm
fast bowler
Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is a type of bowling in cricket, in which the ball is delivered at high speed. The fastest bowlers bowl the ball at over . Practitioners of fast bowling are known as fast bowlers or quicks. Also ...
of extreme pace, Marsh had high athletic qualities and was regarded as one of the outstanding talents of his era. His career was curtailed by continual controversy surrounding the legality of his bowling action; he was
no-ball
In cricket, a no-ball (in the Laws and regulations: "No ball") is a type of illegal delivery to a batter (the other type being a wide). It is also a type of extra, being the run awarded to the batting team as a consequence of the illegal d ...
ed multiple times for throwing. As a result of the debate over the legitimacy of his action, Marsh never established himself at first-class level and was overlooked for national selection. In contemporary discourse, Marsh's lack of opportunities has often been attributed to
racial discrimination
Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their Race (human categorization), race, ancestry, ethnicity, ethnic or national origin, and/or Human skin color, skin color and Hair, hair texture. Individuals ...
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, Marsh first made an impression as a professional runner, travelling to Sydney and then competing interstate, winning races as a sprinter and a hurdler. While in Sydney, Marsh began competing in the local club cricket competition and his action quickly came under scrutiny. He was first no-balled for throwing in 1897, but it was not until 1900 that he came to prominence in a trial match against the New South Wales state team. Marsh dismissed leading
Test cricket
Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...
ers
Victor Trumper
Victor Thomas Trumper (2 November 1877 – 28 June 1915) was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found ...
and Monty Noble, but was called for throwing. Marsh vowed to prove the legitimacy of his action by bowling with his arm encased in
splints
Splints is an ailment of the horse or pony, characterized by a hard, bony swelling, usually on the inside of a front leg, lying between the splint and cannon bone or on the splint bone itself. It may be "hot," meaning that it occurred recently an ...
, which prompted the umpire to resign in humiliation. Having topped the
bowling average
In cricket, a player's bowling average is the number of runs they have conceded per wicket taken. The lower the bowling average is, the better the bowler is performing. It is one of a number of statistics used to compare bowlers, commonly use ...
s in the local competition, Marsh was selected to make his debut in the
Sheffield Shield
The Sheffield Shield is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams representing the six states of Australia. The Sheffield Shield is named after Henry Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield, Lor ...
. He made an immediate impression and led the first-class bowling averages for the season after three matches. He was no-balled in his second match by
Bob Crockett
Robert Maxwell Crockett (1863 in Hepburn, Victoria – 11 December 1935, at Footscray, Victoria), was an Australian Test Cricket Umpires, Australian Test match umpire.
Crockett umpired a total of 32 Test cricket, Test matches, the highest n ...
, but things came to a head in his fourth match when the same umpire no-balled him seventeen times, leading to angry crowd demonstrations. The cricket community was divided on whether Marsh's action was fair and various theories were propounded, which sought to show a motive for foul play against Marsh. The most popular of these theories was that Marsh was scapegoated in a campaign against throwing and was a soft target because of his race.
Marsh only played in two more first-class matches, which came in the two seasons following his no-balling. In a later season, the touring
England cricket team
The England men's cricket team represents cricket in England, England and cricket in Wales, Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Maryleb ...
objected to his selection in an opposition team. There were calls for Marsh to be selected for Australia, but Noble, the New South Wales selector, refused to select him, citing his controversial action. In later years, Marsh turned to alcohol and was briefly jailed for
assault
In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...
. He was killed in a brawl outside a
pub
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
; two men were charged with
manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
but were acquitted.
Early years
Marsh was born into the Bundjalung people at Yulgilbar, which sits on the Clarence River in northern New South Wales. His surname is believed to have possibly derived from that of Francis Henry Marsh, whose property ''Camira'' was separated from Yulgilbar by the Richmond Range. Details of Marsh's itinerant pre-cricket life are scarce, because Aboriginal Australians were not on the electoral roll and Marsh had no written correspondence with others because he was illiterate.
Marsh made his first impression in the sporting arena as a professional runner, following his brother Larry to the Sydney athletics tracks in 1893. A sprinter and
hurdler
Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...
, Marsh had several wins in notable races. He was known for his rapid acceleration, which accounted for him being particularly strong over 75 yd. Aside from his victories in
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, he travelled to race in
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
and Victoria.Cashman, pp. 188–189. As with some other Indigenous runners, Marsh was exploited by his trainer and was suspended for " running stiff" in Sydney in 1895. A more recent study by
Max Bonnell
Maxwell Thomas Bennett Bonnell (born 3 February 1962) is an Australian lawyer and cricket historian.
Career
Max Bonnell attended Trinity Grammar School in Sydney (winning the Lawrence Campbell Oratory Competition in 1979) before studying Arts a ...
has come to the conclusion that Marsh was a world-class sprinter. He found that ''The Referee'', the leading sports publication in Australia at the time, reported that Marsh had covered 100 yd in 9.8 s, which was equal to the amateur world record set by American John Owen in 1890. Marsh had also posted a time of 9.9 s in the previous year. Eight years later a publication briefly noted that Marsh's time was an Australian record.
Marsh also gained prominence in the inner-southern Sydney suburb of La Perouse, which had a large Indigenous population, by demonstrating his
boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...
skills. Marsh, while throwing boomerangs, was spotted by cricket officials and he was persuaded to take up the sport.Colman, p. 25.
Club cricket
Marsh began playing cricket in a competition based around Moore Park, near central Sydney, representing South Sydney. Marsh's career was surrounded by controversy from the outset. In November 1897, he was
no-ball
In cricket, a no-ball (in the Laws and regulations: "No ball") is a type of illegal delivery to a batter (the other type being a wide). It is also a type of extra, being the run awarded to the batting team as a consequence of the illegal d ...
ed for throwing by William Curran in a match against
Paddington
Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
.Whimpress, p. 44. Following its merger with South Sydney, Marsh played for Sydney Cricket Club. Marsh's second no-ball incident at club level came when he played for a ColtsXV against the New South Wales state team in a trial match in November 1900, before the start of the 1900–01
Sheffield Shield
The Sheffield Shield is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams representing the six states of Australia. The Sheffield Shield is named after Henry Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield, Lor ...
season. Curran called him on the first day of the match. Marsh had an eventful day, bowling Test batsmen
Victor Trumper
Victor Thomas Trumper (2 November 1877 – 28 June 1915) was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found ...
Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
player Bert Hopkins. Trumper was widely regarded as the finest batsman of his era, which was regarded as the "golden age" of cricket, and he was seen as one of the most stylish batsmen of all time. Marsh also collected the wickets of Test batsmen and future Australian captains Monty Noble and
Syd Gregory
Sydney Edward Gregory (14 April 1870 – 1 August 1929), sometimes known as Edward Sydney Gregory, was a cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. At the time of his retirement, he had played a world-record 58 Test matches during ...
.
The calls of throwing so infuriated Marsh that at the end of the day's play, he announced that he would wear
splints
Splints is an ailment of the horse or pony, characterized by a hard, bony swelling, usually on the inside of a front leg, lying between the splint and cannon bone or on the splint bone itself. It may be "hot," meaning that it occurred recently an ...
when he was bowling the next day. Marsh took this action to ensure that his elbow was kept straight and to demonstrate that he could bowl fast without throwing. Marsh had previously performed such an exhibition to ground members and the requisite splints and bandages were acquired from the nearby St. Vincent's Hospital, in order to bind his bowling arm. The hospital provided a medical certificate stating that Marsh could not move his elbow while encased in the splints. Marsh was proactive in attempting to defend the legitimacy of his bowling action.Whimpress, p. 45. Marsh's intentions were published in the ''
Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
'' and Curran was made aware that Marsh would seek to challenge him.
Marsh and his club sought a speedy resolution to the problem because
Sheffield Shield
The Sheffield Shield is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams representing the six states of Australia. The Sheffield Shield is named after Henry Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield, Lor ...
matches were due to begin in a matter of weeks. They perceived a danger that other umpires in the Sydney competition would follow Curran's lead and call Marsh, effectively outlawing him, resulting in the loss of the club's leading strike bowler. By wearing the splints, Marsh showed his belief that Curran would call him on the second day. This never happened, because Curran withdrew from his position by the luncheon adjournment on the second day, believing that he had been humiliated. Curran's resignation was widely criticised by the media and he was reprimanded by the First Grade Committee for his action. Bowling "as fast as ever", Marsh went on to finish with 6/125 from 33 overs as New South Wales were bowled out for 320.Clowes, p. 81.
First-class debut
Marsh made his first-class debut when he was selected for the New South Wales team to play
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
at the
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a stadium in Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Parklands, parklands. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby league, ...
in December 1900, just a month after he was no-balled for throwing. The selection indicated that the state selectors were prepared to overrule Curran's judgment. In a high scoring match, Marsh was the most successful of the New South Wales bowlers, taking five
wickets
In the sport of cricket, the term wicket has several meanings:
* It is either of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at each end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a ...
Clem Hill
Clement Hill (18 March 18775 September 1945) was an Australian cricketer who played 49 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1896 and 1912. He captained the Australian team in ten Tests, winning five and losing five. A prolific run ...
scored 365
not out
In cricket, a batsman is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batsman is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress.
Occurrence
At least one batter is not out at ...
, which remains the highest individual score compiled at the Adelaide Oval in a
Sheffield Shield
The Sheffield Shield is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams representing the six states of Australia. The Sheffield Shield is named after Henry Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield, Lor ...
match. At the time, South Australia's total of 575 was the highest ever score against New South Wales in the competition. Marsh took two early wickets to have South Australia 2/43 before Hill amassed his triple-century. He returned to take three of the last four wickets, displaying an ability to break through the defences of batsmen—all of his wickets were
bowled
In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, it is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batter.
Second, it is a method of dismissing a batter, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. ...
.
A week later, Marsh's action was again under scrutiny when he played his second shield match against Victoria in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
. While Richard Callaway—the New South Wales umpire officiating the match—was satisfied with Marsh's bowling action, his Victorian counterpart
Bob Crockett
Robert Maxwell Crockett (1863 in Hepburn, Victoria – 11 December 1935, at Footscray, Victoria), was an Australian Test Cricket Umpires, Australian Test match umpire.
Crockett umpired a total of 32 Test cricket, Test matches, the highest n ...
was concerned with the twisting of the bowler's wrist. Crockett no-balled Marsh three times in the match, but was reluctant to elucidate on the reasons for his call. Marsh took 3/39 and 3/51 respectively,Whimpress, p. 46. dismissing Test batsmen Peter McAlister,
Warwick Armstrong
Warwick Windridge Armstrong (22 May 1879 – 13 July 1947) was an Australian cricketer who played 50 Test matches between 1902 and 1921. An all-rounder, he captained Australia in ten Test matches between 1920 and 1921, and was undefeated, winn ...
,
Jack Worrall
John Worrall (20 June 1861 – 17 November 1937) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Fitzroy Football Club in the Victorian Football Association, VFA, and a Test cricket, Test cricketer. He was also a prominent coach in ...
and
Frank Laver
Frank Jonas Laver (7 December 1869 – 24 September 1919) was an Australian cricketer and baseball player. He played in 15 Test matches between 1899 and 1909 and visited England as a player and team manager on four occasions. An accomplished p ...
. Marsh bowled three of his victims.
According to cricket historian Bernard Whimpress, the early signs of a conspiracy against Marsh were raised by a journalist from ''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' of Melbourne by the name of ''Old Boy''. The journalist set a possible agenda by raising a question about Marsh to Crockett on the day before the bowler was called, possibly predisposing the umpire to take action. If ''Old Boy'' could be relied on, then observers suspected that Marsh's faster and slower ball were dubious. The reporter did not specify which ball he questioned, except to say that one ball per over was doubtful. The events in Australia occurred against a backdrop of a throwing frenzy in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. A fortnight earlier, the captains of the English county teams had drawn up a list of prohibited bowlers. In Australia, Jim Phillips had set the tone by no-balling Australian Test bowler Ernie Jones. The events in England were seen as a catalyst for a clean-up campaign against dubious bowling actions. Historians regarded Marsh as a prime target due to his Indigenous heritage and his supple wrist action.
Marsh's third Sheffield Shield match was the return fixture against South Australia in January 1901 at the
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...
(SCG); New South Wales reversed the result of the corresponding match three weeks earlier. South Australia batted first and were bowled out for 157, with Marsh taking the leading figures of 5/34. These included the prize wickets of Hill and George Giffen, Test players who went on to be inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame. New South Wales then piled on 918 before completing an innings victory by bowling the visitors out for 156 in the second innings. The margin of an innings and 605 runs set a new record for the largest victory in first-class history. Marsh took 5/59 and did the bulk of the damage, removing five of South Australia's top six specialist batsmen, at one stage reducing the visitors to 6/114. Marsh bowled six of his opponents and was not questioned by either umpire. At this point, Marsh led the first-class averages in bowling, with 21 wickets at a
bowling average
In cricket, a player's bowling average is the number of runs they have conceded per wicket taken. The lower the bowling average is, the better the bowler is performing. It is one of a number of statistics used to compare bowlers, commonly use ...
of 17.38 in three matches. The match was Marsh's career high point; it was to be the only ten-wicket match of his brief career.
The controversy over Marsh's bowling action came to a head in the return match against Victoria at the SCG. The fixture had been slated for the
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...
weekend but it was postponed by a week when
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
died. By the time the match was under way, public interest had started to wane. Some three decades later, J. C. Davis reflected on the match, noting that it stirred many memories, "some fragrant and some rather unpleasant". The unsavoury incident that he alluded to was Crockett's continual no-balling of Marsh for throwing.Whimpress, p. 47.
New South Wales batted first and were bowled out on the first afternoon for 170. When the Victorians began their response, Crockett called Marsh for throwing three times in his first over, provoking rowdy responses from the spectators. The ''Sydney Mail'' said the crowd reaction was "a lot of abuse and unfair criticism" of Crockett.Clowes, p. 183. He was no-balled a further two times in his second over and five of Victoria's first nine runs were extras. Despite this, Victoria started poorly, losing five wickets by the time it reached 50 runs. Of the five wickets to fall, Marsh bowled future Test captain Armstrong and McAlister. The crowd showed its sympathy for Marsh when he rattled Armstrong's stumps; they cheered him loudly and verbally attacked Crockett. Marsh was called a total of 17 times during the innings, the most in a single first-class innings in Australia. The calls produced angry reactions from the spectators on the hill of the
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...
, who jeered "Crock! Crock! Crock!", regarding the umpire—not the bowler's arm—as being crooked. Marsh went on to take 2/68. At one point Marsh lost his temper and deliberately threw three consecutive balls. Despite the repeated calls, the captain
Syd Gregory
Sydney Edward Gregory (14 April 1870 – 1 August 1929), sometimes known as Edward Sydney Gregory, was a cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. At the time of his retirement, he had played a world-record 58 Test matches during ...
kept Marsh bowling from Crockett's end—who was suspected of being biased towards his own state—rather than allowing Marsh to be examined by Crockett's partner.
Reaction to Crockett
Crockett's calls provoked a varied response from the media, which often ran counter to their state allegiances. The New South Wales journalist Davis felt that Marsh's deliberate throws raised "uncertainty", while the ''Australasian's'' cricket writer
Tom Horan
Thomas Patrick Horan (8 March 1854 – 16 April 1916) was an Australian cricketer who played for Victorian Bushrangers, Victoria and Australia national cricket team, Australia, and later became an esteemed cricket journalist under the pen name ...
—a Victorian who went by the pen name ''Felix''—felt that Marsh was a soft target for Crockett, whom he regarded as a suspicious character. Curran's previous calling of Marsh in the Sydney competition had strengthened Crockett's position away from his parochial state base.Whimpress, p. 48. The Victorian umpire was regarded as a tough-minded umpire, much like Jim Phillips, who had triggered the current round of throwing calls in Australian cricket. Crockett was commended for his willingness to call Marsh in the face of public anger and for doing what others would not. When Marsh bowled from the other end in the second innings of the match, his action was deemed by Crockett's umpiring partner
Sammy Jones
Samuel Percy Jones (1 August 1861 – 14 July 1951) was an Australian cricketer who played 12 Test matches between 1882 and 1888. By this time, Marsh's confidence was low.Colman, p. 26. He took his worst ever first-class figures of 1/105 as New South Wales lost by one wicket. His only wicket was Test player Charlie McLeod, bowled for six.
Whimpress tabled various hypotheses for Crockett's actions. At the time, Crockett was 37 years old and was ready to emerge from the shadow of Phillips, the eminent Australian umpire of the time. When Crockett called Marsh, it was his 29th match as a first-class umpire and the no-balling was seen in some quarters as a signal that he felt ready to officiate in Test matches. A cynical view of Crockett's calls held that if throwing was to be eradicated then the umpire was going to choose a soft target. This theory ruled out the calling of a fellow Victorian, his state of origin. The same line of reasoning concluded that a New South Welshman would be called, and likely not a high-profile Test player like Noble or Jack Saunders. Those who adhered to this hypothesis believed that it would be easier for Crockett to target someone who had a previous stigma of throwing and that Marsh—an Aboriginal Australian who led the bowling averages with 21 wickets at 17.38—was an ideal target.
At the time, the alteration to the no-ball law made by the
Marylebone Cricket Club
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...
(MCC) in 1899 was yet to be implemented in Australian first-class cricket. This change allowed the umpire to call a throw from either end, whereas the law previously barred the umpire at square leg from doing so. The non-implementation of the law diluted the power of Australian umpires, since the bowler could be switched to the other end and made immune from being called by the first umpire. As a result, Gregory's unwillingness to switch Marsh to the opposite end surprised cricket observers.Whimpress, p. 49. Australian administrators had been under pressure from England to crack down on dubious bowling actions. English captain Archie MacLaren had asserted that "If Australia expects an English team next September they will have to play according to the new reading of the law at home".Whimpress, p. 50. It was speculated that because Crockett was a lifelong employee of the
Melbourne Cricket Club
The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) is a sports club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is one of the oldest sports clubs in Australia.
The MCC is responsible for management and development of the Melbourne Cricket Groun ...
, which organised and sponsored English tours to Australia, he was under pressure to no-ball bowlers in order to curry favour with English administrators.
Incidents against England
The controversy over Marsh's bowling action again reared its head during the 1901–02 season, when MacLaren led his English tourists to Australia. The English played in a match at Bathurst where Marsh was selected, but MacLaren refused to play against him. Noble, who selected the New South Wales teams, used the complaints about Marsh to ignore growing calls to have the bowler selected for New South Wales and Australia. Without state backing, the remainder of Australia's selectors were happy to rely on Noble's state-level veto to ignore Marsh. Marsh's only first-class match of the season was against
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
. At the time, Queensland was not yet in the Sheffield Shield, so it was a one-off match. The match was the subject of much media attention because it was the first time that two Aboriginal Australians had played in opposing teams at first-class level. Queensland's Indigenous player was Alec Henry, another fast bowler who had been accused of throwing.Colman, pp. 26–27. The New South Wales team travelled north to the match by train, making a stop at
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...
. As part of the media promotion of the match-up between the pair, Henry was taken to Ipswich station to meet Marsh. Marsh was reported in the media as having said "Say old man, toss me up a soft one so I can get a smack at you".Colman, p. 28. Marsh took 2/64 and 3/67 in a drawn match, and bowled three of his victims, who were unable to cope with his pace. Marsh and Henry dismissed one another, each being bowled for nine to create a symmetry in the scorecard.
Marsh was again overlooked for selection during the 1902–03 Sheffield Shield season. He played his only first-class match of the season against Queensland, in another one-off match. In the last first-class fixture of his career, Marsh scored his highest first-class score of nine
not out
In cricket, a batsman is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batsman is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress.
Occurrence
At least one batter is not out at ...
as New South Wales were bowled out for 191. He then took 2/39 in the first innings as New South Wales took a 60-run first innings lead. He finished his career with 3/23 in the second innings, including a final burst of 3/0,Clowes, p. 88. to help his team to a victory. Later in the season, Marsh played in a match for New South Wales against Australia, which was not first-class. He took the wicket of Clem Hill as the match ended in a draw.
Marsh was never selected again, although he continued to dominate grade cricket. He was the leading wicket-taker for three consecutive seasons from 1901–02 to 1903–04, taking a total of 158 wickets at an average of 10.94.
Two years later against
Plum Warner
Sir Pelham Francis Warner, (2 October 1873 – 30 January 1963), affectionately and better known as Plum Warner or "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket, was a Test cricketer and cricket administrator.
He was knighted for services to sport ...
's MCC team, there were further calls for Marsh to be selected for the Test team as Australia fell 1–2 behind in
the Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played biennially between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, ...
. Marsh had taken 5/55 against the Englishmen in a match at Bathurst, delivering a mixture of fast bowling and
off spin
Off spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners bowl with their right-arm and a finger spin action. Their normal delivery is called an off break, which spins from left to r ...
. His victims included
George Hirst
George Herbert Hirst (7 September 1871 – 10 May 1954) was a professional English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1891 and 1921, with a further appearance in 1929. One of the best all-r ...
and Warner himself. No formal complaint about Marsh's bowling was lodged by the English but his bowling did raise eyebrows.Whimpress, p. 51. The general consensus among the English touring party was that Marsh's bowling was unfair, with Warner describing him as a "shier", a 19th-century term for a thrower. Warner asserted that no English umpire would tolerate such a bowling action. Despite this, the English players described him as the best bowler that they had faced on the tour. Warner and Noble were confident that Crockett would no-ball Marsh out of the match if the Australian Test selectors picked the bowler. As a result, Marsh was effectively excluded from the Australian side and his first-class career was limited to just six matches in which he took 34 wickets at an average of 21.47. The Australian Test batsman and captain
Warren Bardsley
Warren "Curly" Bardsley (6 December 1882 – 20 January 1954) was an Australian Test cricketer. An opening batsman, Bardsley played 41 Tests between 1909 and 1926 and over 200 first-class games for New South Wales. He was Wisden's Cricketer of ...
Sydney Barnes
Sydney Francis Barnes (19 April 1873 – 26 December 1967) was an English professional cricketer who is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. He was right-handed and bowled at a pace that varied from medium to fast-medium with ...
. The comparison to Barnes was praise indeed; Barnes was the only bowler in Test history with over 120 wickets to have a bowling average under 20, with 189 wickets at an average of just 16.43. Bardsley said that the only reason that Marsh was "kept ... out of big cricket was his color".Jack Pollard said that Marsh "was clearly the best Australian bowler of his time but unfortunately that was a period when the White Australia policy prevailed. Marsh's name was scratched from the list of players ... by an official who was simply carrying out the racist customs of the day."
Popular with teammates and known for his sportsmanship, Marsh was regarded as an average fielder and had minimal batting skill, with a batting average of 5.00. He played out his days in the Sydney competition and topped the bowling aggregates from 1901 to 1904.Les Poidevin described Marsh as "a well set-up, perfectly built ... man, with an ebony-black, smooth, clear shining skin and twinkling black eyes" who "is quite good looking". Marsh was short for a fast bowler standing 5 ft 7 ins (170 cm) tall. In later years, Marsh experimented with the
googly
A googly, also known as a wrong'un or Bosie, is a type of delivery in the game of cricket bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. It is different from the normal delivery for a leg-spin bowler in that it is turning the other way. The googly is ...
. Photographs of Marsh often show him fashionably dressed in a suit and sporting a moustache.
Later years
When Marsh's cricket career ended in 1905, he resumed professional sprinting; in 1906, he ran against Arthur Postle at a meeting organised by
John Wren
John Wren (3 April 1871 – 26 October 1953) was an Australian bookmaker, boxing and wrestling promoter, Irish nationalist, land speculator, newspaper owner, racecourse and racehorse owner, soldier, pro-conscriptionist and theatre owner. He ...
in Melbourne. The race was organised to give Postle, then Australia's fastest man, a chance to break the 100-yard world record. In front of 12,000 spectators on a wet track, Marsh starting from a two-yard start maintained an early lead until Postle caught him on the line. Postle was declared the winner with a 10-second time, but some observers claimed that it was a dead heat. He retired from competitive sport after the race.
Marsh joined Alexander's Hippodrome Company, travelling around Australia in a
sideshow
In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, traveling carnival, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. They historically featured human oddity exhibits (so-called “Freak show, freak shows”), pr ...
, where his cricketing fame brought much attention. His activities thereafter are unclear, but it is likely that he became an itinerant worker. In retirement, Marsh drank heavily and was jailed for 14 days for committing an
assault
In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...
in Melbourne in 1909, something he blamed on alcohol.
Marsh died after an assault caused by an argument outside the pool room of the Royal Hotel in
Orange, New South Wales
Orange is a city in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney on a great circle at an altitude of . Orange had an urban population of 41,920 at the 2021 Australia Census, 2021 Cens ...
. Two people were charged with
manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
, but they were acquitted. Marsh was buried in an unmarked grave. '' The Bulletin'' wrote in Marsh's obituary that he was "a darkly troubled man with manners which white brothers found impossible to put up with".
Legacy
The Jack Marsh History Lecture, held annually by the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust since 2015, is named in Marsh's honour.Jack Marsh History Lecture , Sydney Cricket Ground Trust. Retrieved 29 March 2016. In 2015 Gideon Haigh's subject was "How
Victor Trumper
Victor Thomas Trumper (2 November 1877 – 28 June 1915) was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found ...
Changed Cricket Forever". Greg de Moore in 2016 presented "
Tom Wills
Thomas Wentworth Wills (19 August 1835 – 2 May 1880) was an Australian sportsman who is credited with being Australia's first cricketer of significance and a founder of Australian rules football. Born in the British penal colony of Colo ...
: First Wild Man of Australian Sport", a subject he'd spent years researching.
See also
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List of New South Wales representative cricketers
This is a list of male cricketers who have played for New South Wales in first-class, List A and Twenty20 cricket. It is complete to the end of the 2017–18 season. The list refers to the sides named as "New South Wales" and does not include pl ...
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List of cricketers called for throwing in top-class cricket matches in Australia
This is a list of cricketers called for throwing in top-class cricket matches in Australia. In the sport of cricket, strict rules govern the method of bowling the ball. The rules relate to the bending of the arm at the elbow, the extent of whic ...