Marsh makes history

Geoff Marsh used to hide his baggy green cap inside the family home, believing it far too precious to be worn in the backyard. ''He kept it away from us kids. We didn't see it too many times,'' his son Shaun, now 28 and about to be handed one of his own, said.

It is fair to say Marsh junior, elated at a pending Test debut, will not be burying his baggy green from anyone's sight this week.

The West Australian left-hander - set to come into the Australian side in the second Test against Sri Lanka with Ricky Ponting having flown home for the birth of his second child - knew at an earlier age than most exactly what he wanted to do.

When Marsh does make his debut tomorrow, they will become the first father and son to have played Australian Test cricket since Syd Gregory made his debut in 1890, following on from his father Ned's appearance in the first official Test in 1877.

Marsh's Test call-up arrives three years after his emergence at one-day international level during Australia's tour of the West Indies. Yet it may not have transpired at all if not for his former coach at Western Australia, Tom Moody.

The skyscraping ex-Australian all-rounder saw a rich talent in Marsh but also a concerning tendency to be lazy. Moody laid down the law and gave him an ultimatum; Marsh listened.

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