Australia’s Shaun Marsh has called time on his professional career as he says a goodbye to his 23-year-long career. Marsh, who recently helped Melbourne Renegades beat city competitors Melbourne Stars in Aaron Finch‘s last game, said that the upcoming clash against Sydney Thunder would be his final dance.
Marsh, who was 17 years and 236 days old when he debuted for Western Australia in 2001, had become the youngest player in nearly 50 years to play for WA at the Sheffield Shield level. Marsh is a Shield, One-Day Cup and BBL title winner. He joined the Renegades in 2019 after a successful spell at the Perth Scorchers. Notably, Marsh has revealed that he told his Renegades teammates about his decision to retire. After the six-wicket win over the Stars, Marsh told his teammates that he is hanging his boots.
“I have loved playing for the Renegades, I’ve met some great people over the last five years and the friendships I’ve made will last a lifetime. This playing group is special. They’ve been amazing to me, amazing teammates and even better friends,” Marsh said.
“Our members and fans are some of the most passionate out there and I’m so thankful for their support over the journey. Stick with us, there’s a huge amount of talent in this group and I have no doubt they’ll lead this group back to the top. To the Renegades’ coaches and staff and everyone behind the scenes – thank you for backing me in from the start and over my final years. It’s made my job a little easier out in the middle,” he added.
He was earlier part of Perth Scorchers and owed a to them. “I owe a lot to the Scorchers, I’ve got some fond memories of playing in Perth and really enjoyed my time there,” he said. “The back-to-back titles are up there for me as the most enjoyable moments I’ve experienced on a cricket field,” he added.
Marsh has represented Australia in 38 Tests, 73 ODIs and 15 T20Is from 2008 to 2019. He has made 5293 runs in International cricket (2265 in Tests, 2773 in ODIs and 255 in T20Is). Marsh was instrumental in Australia’s Ashes win in 2017-18 where he struck two centuries as the Aussies reclaimed the urn.