Shaun Marsh

Shaun Marsh Biography

Shaun Marsh is an Australian cricketer who plays as a left-handed opening batsman. He was born on 9th July 1983 at Narrogin, Western Australia.

Cricket runs in his blood, as his father is the former Australian opener Geoff Marsh, while his younger brother Mitchell also plays for the Australian side along with Shaun. Marsh has represented Australia in all the formats of the game.

Background

Marsh has always been in the cricket scene, with his father exposing him to the game at a very young age and having the advantage of an international grounding and a backyard net. This early push led Shaun to become one of the finest run-makers in the country.

He went to the Wesley College in Perth and performed well at the level. Marsh set the record for the highest average of 210, in the Public Schools Association’s Darlot Cup cricket competition in 1998, which was only broken ten years later.

He represented the Western Australian team at the Under 17 level. His performances paved the way for his inclusion in the Australian squad for the 1999 and 2001 Under-19 World Cup. He was the 2nd highest run scorer for Australia in the 1999 edition, behind Shane Watson.

Throughout his career, Marsh has played for teams like Glamorgan, Yorkshire, Perth Scorchers, Jamaica Tallawahs and the Kings XI Punjab.

Debut

Marsh made his debut for the Australian team in a Twenty20 international match against West Indies on 20th June 2008.

His ODI debut came four days later against the same opponents, and he started off his international career with a score of 81 rus, helping the Australians put up a big target and win the match. He was adjudged the Player of the Match for his efforts.

Since then, Marsh has been regularly in and out of the Australian national squad largely due to shocking drop in form, injuries and then again redeeming himself with some stellar performances.

Rise to Glory

Shaun Marsh came to the fore with his exploits for the Kings XI Punjab in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League in 2008. He emerged as the leading run scorer in the tournament, which included a century in the final group match against Rajasthan. He achieved this feat despite having missed the first four games.

His performances in the IPL and the former Big Bash, handed him a Cricket Australia contract and he was incorporated into the Australian squad.

However as years progressed, Marsh adapted himself more to the lengthier formats of the game. He scored an impressive 182 in the first test against West Indies at Hobart in 2015, which is his highest score till date.

Low Points

Marsh suffered a back injury in a test match at Cape Town which proved to be a serious setback. He returned to the squad, but was just a shadow of himself and struggled to regain form, which kept him out of the national squad.

Records

He is the 19th Australian to score a century on his Test debut.