The bear-like figure of Rodney William Marsh still prowls with intent but these days the all-Aussie Vegemite kid has crossed the divide and now devotes his time nurturing the cream of England's young cricketers.

As conversions go it doesn't quite match up to St Paul's but the mere sight of Marsh ripping off the Baggy Green to take the ECB shilling was more than enough to send many fellow Aussies into fits of apoplexy.

"How dare he!" they bellowed after his unabashed defection but the former world record holder brushed Cyclopean sentiment aside as he explained his decision. It was more about finding a new challenge he said, and by helping revive the old enemy's cricketing prowess he would also be doing the game in general a favour.

"Cricket needs a strong England," said Marsh after taking up a three year contract in July to be Director of the inaugural ECB National Cricket Academy.

By poaching him from a similar role at the highly successful Australian equivalent – the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy in Adelaide – the ECB had displayed a hitherto unsuspected ruthless streak and their glee was all too apparent as they paraded their star transfer in front of a stunned media corps.

No-one seriously doubted the wisdom of his appointment, although a few (including Mark Ramprakash) squealed at the front of appointing a non-English director, but in these days of cosmopolitan coaching structures the ECB followed the lead of their colleagues at the FA and appointed the best man for the job.

Six months later, under the burning Adelaide heat, that ECB's self-congratulatory glow has turned into a suntanned perma-smile as the likes of John Abrahams (assistant coach) and Hugh Morris (performance director) look on admiringly at Marsh working his undisputed magic with 16 of England's finest young talents.

His Test record bears scrutiny with any – he ended his career with a then world record 355 dismissals – and after a decade applying polish to some of Australia's roughest diamonds he commands complete respect.

As a result his services don't come cheap but the ECB was more than willing to stump up the £80,000pa salary his credentials demand, viewing it as a long-term investment in blue-chip stock that should pay handsome dividends for years to come.

Results will not come overnight for this is no quick-fix solution but Marsh is confident his labours will bear handsome fruit in time.

"Obviously I'd like to see England become very, very competitive," he says, all the while keeping a watchful eye on his charges practising in 37c heat in the background

"I know that the Mission Statement from the ECB is to be the best in the world by 2007 but whether or not that is achievable I don't really know – that's too far down the track – but it's a realistic goal.

"What has to happen is these guys have to put pressure on those in front of them and the guys behind these have got to put pressure on them, so that eventually the whole culture will change and you'll get a situation whereby England is very competitive.

"Just how long that's going to take I don't know but certainly I believe we're on the right track to getting that started," he asserts.

Marsh admits "working with a bunch of Englishmen is certainly different from working with a bunch of Australians" but says the quality of intake is high.

"When you're dealing with young cricketers you don't really get too many surprises. I'm very happy with what I've been given to work with but I'm not totally surprised. There's some good young players here as you'd expect from the elite of English cricket at this sort of age group."

And he's confident the two-stage winter plan – mental and physical preparation before Christmas followed by a series of four-day games after – should benefit all involved.

"Basically we wanted to get these guys coming out here, learning about different conditions and then going home and probably playing better than they have before.

"Now, some of them will do that and some of them won't do that. There's a lot of things can determine the way a person's season goes but given their fair share of luck I would hope that most of these guys go back and play very well in the English summer.

"They're all the same whether they be black, white or brindle as far as I'm concerned, they all play the game of cricket. They all want to be successful at the game of cricket and they all realise that success comes through hard work and no short cuts.

"Some of them are more prepared to do that than others but that's always going to be the case with any group of players you get, it doesn't matter where they come from. But there's really good humour in the group and I'm sure their work ethic will improve just because of the fact that if they want to play for England it will have to improve in some instances."

It's going well then?

"Yeah, I'm enjoying it. I enjoy being around cricketers and it's not a bad job is it, let's face it. I enjoy helping young cricketers and it's a hell of a good job and I just love it, otherwise I wouldn't be doing it, I'd be doing something else."

The greatest obstacle, it would seem, is the prospect of giving up his beloved Aussie climate when he flies back in March to take up residence in England for the summer.

"It will be a very big challenge for me personally living in England for a full six months," he admits. "I've not done that before and I'm very much looking forward to it I might add."

So are we Mr Marsh. May your stay be a long and fruitful one.

Photo: Colin Spiro.

13 Feb, 2002