Sydney, Jan 14: Australian cricketer Shaun Marsh on Sunday announced his retirement from professional cricket, with the Melbourne Renegades' fixture against Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League on Wednesday being his last assignment.

He joins former Australian skipper Aaron Finch into retirement.

"I have loved playing for the Renegades. I've met some great people over the last five years, and the friendships I've made will last a lifetime," Marsh, 40, said in a statement to the Renegades.

"To the Renegades' coaches and staff and everyone behind the scenes, thank you for backing me in from the start and over my final years. It's made my job a little easier out in the middle."

Despite starting the season late due to an injury, Marsh accumulating 181 runs in five outings at an average of 45.25 and a strike rate of 138.16. He also hit three half-centuries.

Before joining Renegades during the 2019-20 season, he had a lengthy and successful stint with Perth Scorchers between 2011-19, and he also paid tribute to his previous team.

"I owe a lot to the Scorchers. I've got some fond memories of playing in Perth and really enjoyed my time there. The back-to-back titles are up there for me as the most enjoyable moments I've experienced on a cricket field," he concluded.

Marsh also had a great stint with Australia across formats, scoring more than 5,200 runs and 13 centuries, while his last outing for the Kangaroos was against Sri Lanka at The Oval during the 2019 ODI World Cup.

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Ranchi (PTI): Hemant Soren is set to take oath as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand in a grand ceremony here on Thursday, which will be attended by several top political leaders, including AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Soren at 4 pm.

This will be the 49-year-old JMM leader's fourth stint as chief minister.

Soren retained the Barhait seat, defeating BJP's Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes in the recent assembly polls. The JMM-led alliance stormed to victory, securing 56 seats in the 81-member assembly, while the BJP-led NDA managed 24 seats.

Posters for the event can be seen across the city, while security has been strengthened and traffic regulations put in place.

Schools in Ranchi city are shut on Thursday in view of the swearing in of the Hemant Soren government.

Jharkhand in-charge and Congress general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir said Soren is likely to take oath alone, and expansion of the cabinet will be held after a vote of confidence in the assembly.

Other senior political leaders likely to be in attendance are NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, a JMM leader said.

CPI(ML)L general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti and Bihar’s Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav are also likely to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

"It’s heartening to have such esteemed leaders join us for this important occasion," said Soren, who along with senior officials paid a visit to the Morabadi ground on Wednesday evening to take stock of the arrangements.