Veteran cricketer Rod Marsh fights for life as he remains in induced coma

Veteran Australian cricketer Rod Marsh is in the fight of his life after being put into an induced coma following a major heart attack he suffered on February 24. The former wicketkeeper-batter was rushed to a hospital after his heart stopped functioning, while he was in Bundaberg to attend a charity event. Rod Marsh’s son Paul said that it will take some time for the scope of recovery to become clearer.

The 74-year old has played 96 Test matches for Australia between 1970 and 1984.  The left-handed batter has scored 3633 runs in the longest format of the game at an average of 26.51. Marsh also has three centuries and 16 fifties under his belt. Talking about his limited-over career, the wicketkeeper-batter represented his country in 92 ODIs scoring 1225 runs. He also has four fifties under his name in the ODI format. Marsh has also served as a national selector until 2016.

Australian skipper Pat Cummins extends his support towards Rod Marsh

Australian Test captain Pat Cummins, while addressing media upon his squad arrival in Pakistan wished his best to Marsh and his family. The pacer also recognized the 74-year old contribution towards the game and extended his support towards the veteran player. Team Australia will be taking on Pakistan in three-match Test series and an equal number of ODIs, apart from one T20I starting from March 4.

Meanwhile, Australia Cricket Association (ACA) on February 27 released a statement on behalf of Marsh’s Family

“On behalf of my mother Ros and brothers Dan and Jamie, I wanted to provide an update on Dad’s condition. He is currently in the fight of his life and remains in an induced coma in critical condition. At the moment this is a waiting game and we are unlikely to have any certainty for some time. We know there is a lot of interest in Dad’s condition and our family has been overwhelmed by the messages of love and support from all around the world. We have listened to and read every one of them and we are incredibly grateful to everyone,” stated an official statement.