In cricketing terms, we’re 2-0 in recent news.
First Rod Marsh departs, then Shane Warne, both lives cut shorter than they should have been. Warne’s cut off in his prime.
When someone greatly revered dies, it’s inevitable that there’s a sense of loss associated with it even if we never knew the person.
I never got to meet Warnie in person, short of a begrudging swish of pen on my nervous paper. I never particularly liked Warnie as a person because of the way he conducted himself off the field, but I would always try to emulate his action in the nets.
The sense of loss that comes from a famous person’s passing causes each one of us to ask: “What legacy are we leaving behind?”
For Rod Marsh, his was a legacy of toughness. Copping criticism when he first came into the side for not being a terribly elegant wicket-keeper, he helped rebuild the side through the rebel South African tours and was a mainstay behind the stumps and in the middle order for 14 years.
He took wicket-keeping to new heights as the first Australian wicket-keeper to score a hundred.
The word ‘larrikin’ suitably describes Shane Warne.
Whether wooing women off the field, taking money for match fixing or his drug suspension, Warne’s off-field reputation was that of a bad boy. When on the field, he mastered the mystery art of gripping a 23-centimetre leather ball, gripping and placing it with precision to bamboozle even the best players of spin bowling.
What now? How do we remember these two uniquely different characters of the game?
Well, for starters, we remember their goodness on the field. We want to imagine that the goodness in their cricketing life has led them to some sort of happy place after death. After all, humanity is inherently good, isn’t it?
We also overlook not-so-savoury sections of their past. We ignore Rod Marsh’s abrasiveness on the field. We gloss over Warnie’s many scandals. We choose not to delve into these unsavoury sections to remember fondly what they were like.
The reality is that both goodness and badness are contained within each one of us. Who knows what we might have done if we had been called up early in our careers, been called ‘the next big thing’ and had an ego the size of a jet plane.
We, too, might have succumbed to the same desires that Shane Warne did, and only our pride forbids us from acknowledging that.
One thing is for sure that in these times of memorial: reflecting on the whole of a person’s life proves instructive to us. If life after death exists, then we should use these moments to become better people ourselves, to instruct our kids and grandkids in the way that the world works so that they can become better people.
If life after death exists, then perhaps we ought to devote ourselves to acquiring it?
Vale Warne and Marsh. We might never know exactly where they are now, but we can reflect on their lives to make us better cricketers and people.
Neither Warne nor Marsh seemed to find the secret to happiness whilst here on earth, and who knows if they’ve found it now.
Regardless, we can take on Warnie’s thirst for life and mix it with Marsh’s toughness and live our lives to the best of our ability.
However we choose to live, all of us need to remember that life is not about us. The Golden Rule, passed down from the One who knows it all, sums it up, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
Marsh and Warne’s legacies will live on, even if they do not, as testament to how they played the game.
Aransan
Roar Rookie
The fear by the authorities, justified in my view, was that the bookie was trying to eventually get them to go deeper by starting off with a request for harmless information.
John66
Roar Rookie
It sure has given us perspective.in the last 35 days we have lost 3 larger than life characters, all having delivered unforgettable performances at the MCG. This past weekend we said farewell to Rod Marsh and Shane Warne. Late January we heard that Meatloaf had passed away. Rod and Shane's passing came as some surprise,but no so with the theatrical singer. Anyone at the AFL Grand Final that day in 2011, knew he was dying. It just took along time for his body to realise it...
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
That’s because SA wasn’t playing International cricket for his career. Had you witnessed him I’m sure you would’ve been impressed with his keeping to genuine, sometimes frightening pace. To two of the greatest fast bowlers.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
No worries, I didn’t suggest it was sensationalist. Just questioning two points. But giving information on conditions is a long way from actively affecting the outcome of a match or parts of a match for bookies. I’d be interested to hear any incidents that AB mentions where Marsh was seen as over the top unpleasant by the opposition.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
I can’t and won’t speak for him. I can only say that he said in 2018 to the BBC he was entirely happy with his life.
Monorchid
Roar Rookie
Thanks for replying Gibbo. Not all authors here do that. There's as good a description of the whole sordid affair in some detail on Wikipedia. Just type "John the bookmaker controversy" into your search engine. You probably read it. I do agree that it all seemed strange to me when it all finally blew up in 1998 - because of the media, not the cricket authorities. People were asking why there was pitch and weather information exchanged for money when this could be obtained for free by reading a newspaper or listening to the radio. People were speculating that more may have been involved. It looked bad irrespective of what really happened. The Australian Cricket Board came out of it badly too because it seems that certain people hadn't been fully forthcoming to other Board members. Then there was the allegation about Saleem Malik trying to bribe the same players to toss matches in Pakistan. And subsequent enquiries by both countries. It was all mucky and murky. The problem was that neither player was found guilty of match fixing although they were fined. Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore for Warne. RIP.
Gibbo
Roar Pro
I've just finished reading AB's autobiography, and he indicates that this was how Marsh was seen by opposition players at times. Others who've played in that era have backed it up. I remember when the scandal broke in 1998, and I specifically remember that the term "match-fixing" was connected to it, hence my use of the term. Giving any sort of information to an unknown entity who could pass it on to the opposition, even pitch information, is at least unsavoury if not deliberately bowling no-balls to impact the outcome of matches or to get money. It's the same way that using cough lollies or red snakes when shining the ball is still technically ball tampering even if it's "technically" legal. I apologise if the article appeared "sensationalist". I wasn't trying to be sensationalist as much as I was trying to get everyone to reflect.
Gibbo
Roar Pro
When Shane stuck to tactics, spin bowling or anything (really) to do with cricket, he was spot on. When he made more outlandish suggestions (like picking Riley Meredith and D'Arcy Short to play Tests), you just shook your head and asked why?
Monorchid
Roar Rookie
I replied to your comment yesterday DaveJ. It didn't make it for some reason. What I said was that I was also taken aback by the statement about "taking money for match fixing". All I could think of was when Warne and Mark Waugh were reported to have accepted money from "John the bookie" for pitch information during the 1994 tour of Sri Lanka. While I recall being astonished that Test players would do this when the story broke, it doesn't constitute match fixing, and I don't remember anyone alleging this at the time either.
Gibbo
Roar Pro
Perhaps a little harsh for Marsh, but Rod Marsh always seemed to be looking for "the next thing". I think he did a lot of good, but he never seemed 100% satisfied. Can you really ever say that, outside of his children, Warne found true happiness?
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Some odd comments in the article. More like an article in search of an audience.
J.T. Delacroix
Guest
With all due respect, Rod Marsh was far more than a ‘mere shadow.’ Obviously not in apartheid era South Africa, but in Australia & the UK, he was very highly regarded. So sad to lose them both in the space of 24 hours or so.
ForeverBok
Roar Rookie
Hang on, as sad as Rod Marsh death, he was, after all, 74. Shane Warne was only 52, and had such a lot of living to do, and fun and knowledge to give. I loved Shane in the commentary box. The best. None better than Shane. As a South African, I admired Shane as the best ever bowler. Rod Marsh was a mere shadow. Never captured the world. Only ever known in Australia. Shane was loved and admired the world over. RIP to both, but I will miss Shane Warne.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Marsh’s abrasiveness on the field? I don’t recall any obvious moments of bad sportsmanship or controversy, and I saw most of his career, at least in Australia. Have I forgotten something obvious? I don’t believe Warne was caught taking money for match fixing - you might want to change that.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
“Neither Warne nor Marsh seemsd to find the secret to happiness whilst here on Earth” Really?
Kevo
Roar Rookie
Yes I agree we are all human. Whether life exists after death is irrelevant to whether we should aspire to do good in our short lives. Doing good is its own reward. There is no secret to happiness, it's a feeling that comes and goes, ebbs and flows like every other human feeling, and it seems both Bacchus and Warnie experienced their share of happiness amongst the full gamut of human emotions. Their ultimate legacies are their children. I feel for Warne's kids, a huge loss for them. I think Warne would be heart broken if he could know the void his death will leave in their young lives...but it sounds like they know he loved and treasured them which will hold them in good stead.