Monday
18 July 2005
Rod Marsh,
MBE
Public Orator, Professor
Stuart Biddle presented the Honorary Graduand at the Degree Ceremony
held on Monday 18 July 2005 at 10.30am
Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor,
Guests, Graduates, Ladies and Gentlemen
Loughborough University has
an unrivalled reputation in sport. It has helped to produce international
experts in performance, coaching, science, and managerial leadership
in sport – and even the leader of the London 2012 bid! We believe
in sport in the fullest sense, hence our moto for Loughborough Sport
– Developing People, Developing Sport. Today, we are honouring
an outstanding person in the field of sport whose legacy in the world
of cricket is as a performer at the highest level and in the development
of people in cricket, as well as the sport of cricket itself.
Rod Marsh’s position
in international cricket is now firmly established as one of the all-time
great wicket keeper batsmen. In a game comfortable with statistics,
his own data are indeed impressive. He played for Australia in 96 test
matches between 1970 and 1984 and secured 355 dismissals, then a world
record. These were great Australian teams including the likes of Lillee
and Thompson; he also scored 3633 runs. Selected for 14 overseas tours,
including six to England, Rod was regularly the vice-captain at home
and abroad and was Wisden World Cricketer of the year in 1982.
Following such a highly successful
playing career is never easy, as many famous competitors have discovered.
But after a spell in the media, both as a cricket journalist and TV
and radio commentator, Rod was appointed Head Coach of the Australian
Cricket Academy. This appointment was to last for 10 years and produced
the undisputed best team in the world. The academy produced 27 players
who have played for Australia including Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath,
and Ricky Ponting. The England and Wales Cricket Board then recruited
Rod to be the first Director of the ECB national academy. The performance
of a currently successful and still improving England senior side is
based on many players guided to this level by Rod Marsh and his academy
staff. The recent records of Andrew Strauss, Steve Harmison, and Kevin
Pietersen speak for themselves. 16 academy players have now played test
cricket for England and 21 have played in one-day internationals. This
is the best cricket training environment in the world - here on the
Loughborough campus. At the initial announcement that the Academy would
be based at Loughborough it was noted by High Morris (the Performance
Director of the ECB and the man responsible for bringing Rod to England)
that "Loughborough offers the ideal environment for the development
of England’s next generation of international cricketers and high
performance coaches". Rod once famously labelled England's best
pace bowlers as 'pie-chuckers' but then became their successful mentor!
Rod has always been happy
to give his time to our university players. He is not only one of the
World’s best coaches, but is a gentleman and a great ambassador
for sport, for Australian cricket, and in recent years for the ECB and
for Loughborough University.
Chancellor, for his outstanding
achievements in the playing, coaching and development of cricket, I
have the honour to present to you, and to the whole University, RODNEY
MARSH, MBE, for the degree of Doctor of Technology, honoris causa.
