Jac k Marsh (c.187 4 - 1916)

NS W Cricketer (1900/0 1 - 1902/03)

• Born into the Bundjalung people at Yulgilbar on the Clarence River in northern NSW. • Made his first impression in the sporting arena as a world class sprinter, following his brother Larry to the Sydney athletics tracks in 1893, and later winning races in Queensland and Victoria as a sprinter and hurdler. He covered 100 yards in 9.8 seconds which was equal to the world record, and therefore became the fastest man in Australia at the time.

• While demonstrating his boomerang skills at La Perouse in Sydney, Marsh was spotted by cricket officials and was persuaded to take up the sport.

• Began playing cricket in a competition based around Moore Park, representing South Sydney as a right-arm fast bowler of extreme pace, despite standing only 5 foot 7 inches (170cm). Following its merger with Paddington, Marsh played for the Sydney Cricket Club.

• Gained prominence when he played for a Colts XV against the NSW state team in a trial match in November 1900. Marsh took the wickets of Test players Victor Trumper (for 1 run), Frank Iredale, Monty Noble and Syd Gregory, as well as future Test player Bert Hopkins, all on the first day.

• He made his first class debut in December 1900 when he was selected for the NSW team to play South Australia at Adelaide Oval. In a high scoring match, he took 5/181, all clean bowled. However, almost from the beginning of his cricket career, his bowling action was a source of controversy. He was no-balled multiple times for throwing by some (but certainly not all) umpires. In Marsh’s fourth Sheffield Shield game on Australia Day 1901, Victoria’s Bob Crockett called Marsh 17 times for throwing in Victoria’s first innings – still a record for a single first class innings in Australia, leading to angry crowd demonstrations. Crockett was widely criticised by the then highly critical press, because umpire Sammy Jones who officiated at the other end, did not once ‘call’ Marsh. Several press critics pointed out that Crockett was a full- time employee of the Melbourne Cricket Club which organised English tours of Australia, and may well have been bowing to strong English pressure to stamp out ‘chuckers’. Marsh was therefore scapegoated as a soft target due to his race.

• While there were calls for Marsh to be selected to play for Australia, Monty Noble, the New South Wales selector refused citing his controversial action. This included 2 years later against Plum Warner’s MCC team when Australia fell 2-1 behind in the Ashes. Earlier Marsh had taken 5/55 against the Englishmen in a match at Bathurst, delivering a mixture of fast bowling and medium pace off-cutters. Despite the controversy surrounding his actions, the English players described Marsh as the best bowler that they had faced on the tour.

• His first-class career amounted to just six matches in which he took 34 wickets at 21.47, with three 5 wicket hauls, and one 10 wickets in a match.

• Historical research since the mid-1980s makes a strong case that his race was a significant factor in his exclusion from national and state representation. Les Poidevin, who batted for both NSW and Lancashire commented that he would not be picked for Australia “because the absurd white Australia policy has touched or tainted the hearts of the rulers of cricket, as it has the political rulers”. The legendary batsman and Australian captain Warren Bardsley went on record as saying he rated Marsh the equal of great fast bowlers Fred Spofforth and Sydney Barnes, and demanded that he be quoted as saying the only reason Marsh was kept out of Test cricket….”was his colour.”

• Marsh played out his cricketing days in the Sydney grade competition, topping the bowling averages from 1901 to 1904, taking 158 wickets at 10.94. His cricket career ended in 1905 and he returned to professional athletics. Well past his prime he mainly competed in exhibitions, and then travelled around Victoria and South Australia giving exhibitions of boomerang throwing and bowling under the Big Top.

• Marsh died after an assault resulting from an argument outside the pool room of the Royal Hotel in Orange on 25 May 1916. Two people were charged with manslaughter, but were acquitted.

• The life of Jack Marsh was documented in the book, “How many more are coming ? The Short Life of Jack Marsh” by Max Bonnell. The book was awarded the 2003/04 Australian Cricket Society Literary Award Winner.

• Cricket NSW have honoured Marsh since 2011 with the T20 ‘Jack Marsh Cup’ for indigenous players. The Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust have also honoured Marsh with the naming of the inaugural and annual historical cricket lectures, the ‘Jack Marsh History Lectures’ since 2015.

Source: http://www.sydneycricketground.com.au/history/jack-marsh/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Marsh