Roy Marshall

Roy Marshall

Personal information
Full name	Roy Edwin Marshall
Born	(1930-04-25)25 April 1930 Saint Thomas, Barbados
Died	27 October 1992(1992-10-27) (aged 62) Taunton, Somerset, England
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off break
Relations	Norman Marshall (brother)
International information
National side	West Indies
Test debut (cap 72)	9 November 1951 v Australia
Last Test	15 February 1952 v New Zealand
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1946–1953	Barbados
1953–1972	Hampshire
Career statistics
Competition Test FC LA Matches 4 602 75 Runs scored 143 35,725 2,190 Batting average 20.42 35.94 32.20 100s/50s 0/0 68/185 2/12 Top score 30 228* 140 Balls bowled 52 12,113 – Wickets 0 176 – Bowling average – 28.93 – 5 wickets in innings – 5 – 10 wickets in match – 0 – Best bowling – 6/36 – Catches/stumpings 1/– 294/– 16/–
Source: Cricinfo, 5 January 2009

Roy Edwin Marshall (25 April 1930 – 27 October 1992) was a West Indian cricketer who played in four Test matches from 1951 to 1952. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1959.

The son of a wealthy plantation owner of Scottish descent, Marshall was born in Farmers Plantation in Saint Thomas, Barbados.^[1] He was educated in Barbados at The Foundation School, where he initially developed his skills as a cricketer.^[1] Seeing potential in his sons skills as a cricketer, his father moved him to The Lodge School to further develop his cricketing prospects.^[1] By attending The Lodge School, considered one of the nurseries of Barbadian cricket, he was able to partake in the First Division of the National Men's League, playing alongside many of the leading Barbadian cricketers of the time.^[1] His success as a batsman for Lodge earned him a place in a trial match for selection to Barbadian team for their tour to Trinidad and Tobago; his scores of 72 and 80 runs earned him selection for the tour.^[1] Thus whilst still a schoolboy, Marshall made his debut in first-class cricket in January 1946, aged 15, for Barbados against Trinidad at Port-of-Spain.^[2] However, on debut he struggled with nerves, making only 2 runs in the match.^[3]

He did not appear for Barbados again until 1949, playing in the interim for the elite Wanderers Club.^[4] Strong performances in club cricket led to his recall to the Barbadian team in 1949, where he met with immediate success in two matches against Trinidad at Bridgetown.^[3] In the first match he made a century (149 runs) opening the batting alongside Charlie Taylor, with whom he shared in an opening partnership of 278.^[5] In the second match, he made a second century (110 runs) and made a half century.^[6] His success continued the following season against British Guiana, with Marshall making 191 runs opening the batting.^[7]

Marshall made his Test debut against Australia on 9 November 1951 at the Gabba, making 28 and 30. After three further Tests against Australia and New Zealand, Marshall was omitted from the West Indian side and moved to England in 1953 to qualify for Hampshire.

He played for Hampshire from 1953 to 1972, qualifying for Championship matches in 1955, and captained them from 1966 to 1970. Marshall was an important component of Hampshire's 1961 Championship-winning side. He was an attacking opening batsman at a time when these were rare in county cricket. He scored over 1,000 runs in 17 of his 18 full county seasons and made 60 centuries for Hampshire. His best season was 1961 when he scored 2,607 runs. Marshall played 504 first-class matches for Hampshire, scoring 30,303 runs in his time with the county.^[8]

Marshall died from cancer at Taunton, Somerset, on 27 October 1992.

His brother Norman Marshall played a single Test for the West Indies in 1955. He also played first-class cricket for Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.

• Roy Marshall at ESPNcricinfo
• Profile of Roy Marshall by Gideon Haigh