A labour of love

Alex Brown of the Sydney Morning Herald reveals Shaun Marsh's source of inspiration.

Should Marsh find himself short of inspiration, he need only glance at his batting gloves. There, scrawled in black marker pen, is the word "Chemo" - a reference to the bond he has forged with several young cancer patients in Perth.

For more than a year Marsh has worked with "The Chemo Club", a joint initiative between Aspire Gym and SolarisCare which encourages those undergoing chemotherapy to exercise in a bid to help their recovery. Justin Langer also has close ties to the group.

For Marsh the simple five-letter message on his gloves serves not only as a tribute to the kids with whom he is particularly close, but also as a source of inspiration. "To me it just keeps things in perspective," Marsh said. "No matter how hard I might think I have it, I only have to look at the gloves and that message and think about what they're going through, and know that what I face is really nothing."