Sydney: Chairman of selectors Rod Marsh has stepped down with immediate effect after a humiliating run of five heavy Test defeats, Cricket Australia said on Wednesday.

The former wicketkeeping great, 69, quit amid recriminations about the poorly performing national team which crashed to a first-ever home series defeat to South Africa on Tuesday.

‘This is my own decision and no one within Cricket Australia has pressured me or even suggested that I should do this,’ Marsh said in a statement.

‘Clearly, though, it is time for some fresh thinking, just as it is for our test team to welcome some new faces as we build for the future.’