Hamish Marshall - New Zealand - Batsman

Hamish like many others before him was lost to English county cricket. He was a stylish middle-order batsman, who was not fazed by the pace on the ball. In fact, the highlight of his career was the 146 against an Australian attack at its peak. He followed that up with another big hundred against Sri Lanka, but soon refused the central contract and signed up for Gloucestershire. He was soon a home qualified player because of his Irish passport.

Marshall made his debut in December 2000 against South Africa. In his first game, he was sent at No. 7 and made a valiant 40 not out. However, he had to wait three years to get his second game. That chance came when he was picked for the tour of Pakistan. During the third ODI, Hamish scored a brilliant unbeaten 101 and followed that up with a 64 and 84 in the subsequent return series against the same side. He was also the chief architect when the Black Caps beat South Africa in an ODI series at home. Marshall played a vital role in the 2004 NatWest series where New Zealand beat West Indies in the final.

However, lack of form saw him lose his place in the side. Though he was not picked for the 2007 World Cup, Hamish joined the squad as a replacement to Lou Vincent, who was ruled out. He played three games in the mega event, but made a surprise move to decline a central contract soon after.

He started his career with Gloucestershire as an overseas player and in his debut game, Marshall scored 102 against Worcestershire. He finished that season with 1218 runs at 60.90. But, he failed to translate the same kind of performances in the following seasons. The only other season where he scored more than 1000 runs was in 2013. And was out of form again in the following season.

His List A returns for Gloucestershire are very mediocre. Though he has scored two T20 tons, one of them in 2007 season when Gloucs reached the final, he is not a threat to the opposition. His other T20 hundred was against Middlesex, where he and Kevin O'Brien both struck tons and recorded 254/3 in 20 overs - a domestic world record.

Marshall ended his association with Gloucestershire in 2016 and returned to his hometown - Wellington. It was a 11-year partnership that came to en end and Hamished finished with a 70-odd in his final game. The high point in his Gloucestershire career came in 2015, when he helped his side beat Surrey in the Royal London Cup final - it was Gloucestershire's first silverware in over a decade.

Upon returning to New Zealand, Marshall became a regular of the Wellington side. In fact, he became their back bone in the 2016-17 domestic season. Scoring truck loads of runs in all three formats and providing the experience to a relatively young side.

Hamish has a twin brother named James, who also represented New Zealand. In fact, they were the second pair of twins (after Steve and Mark Waugh) to play Test cricket together. Marshall turned out for the rebel Indian Cricket League - representing Royal Bengal Tigers.


By Akshay Maanay