COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Geoff Marsh bid a sad farewell to the Australian cricket squad last week after a three-and-a-half year coaching stint that included a World Cup win, but ended with the first defeat in a test series against Sri Lanka.

Marsh, who made 2,854 runs at an average of 33.18 in 50 tests and 4,357 runs at 39.97 in 117 one-day internationals, said he was looking forward to domestic duties at home in Perth. Marsh is now on Australia's selection panel. He resigned as coach because of the effects of time and travel on his family.

"I will go and find my lawnmower, I think," he told Australian cricket writers accompanying the team. "I am a selector and that's given me another lease of life. They're exciting times and I am looking forward to that."

Allan Border replaced Marsh when Australia left Colombo for a three-week tour of Zimbabwe that features the inaugural test between the two nations and three one-day internationals.

"The thing I tried to put into their minds was that if they wanted to achieve something, they had to work hard for it and plan for it," Marsh said of Australia's 0-1 test series defeat at the hands of the Sri Lankans.

On Monday, Sri Lanka won the three-test series when rain washed out play in the third and final test. Sri Lanka won the first test and the second test was also a rain-marred draw.

Marsh looked on helplessly as rain ruined Australia's slim chances of leveling the series on the last day, when his team still needed 16 wickets.

The former Australian opening batsman and vice-captain to Border in the 1980s said he was content with his decision to leave the coaching job, but it was tinged with sadness.

"Obviously it's quite sad really, your last day with the boys," Marsh said.

"It's been a great three-and-a-half years, I've really enjoyed it. The pleasing thing is we played really good cricket over those times, we've had a great time together," he said.

"We've worked hard and won some good series, in both tests and one-dayers, so it's been an honor to work with them."

March rated the World Cup one-day triumph in England last June as a highlight during his coaching stint, along with test series wins in Pakistan last year, and in South Africa in 1997.

"The World Cup is so big, and at the end of the day there was only going to be one team standing on the balcony at Lord's," Marsh said.

"I know there was a lot of planning that went into that by selectors and Stephen Waugh and all the players," he said. Waugh is the Australian captain.

Waugh paid tribute to Marsh, saying, "He's had a great impact on Australian cricket. More so the attitude he's given the players, the team spirit, commitment, character. That was his biggest legacy, that you've really got to be together as a side, and that's something he always worked on."