Marsh punishes England drops with good century on Test return
M
itchell Marsh marked his Australia debut with a sensational counter-attacking hundred as England had been made to pay a heavy worth for but extra dropped catches on the opening day of the must-win Third Test at Headingley.
The all-rounder, taking part in his first Test for the reason that 2019 Ashes finale on the Oval, belted 118 – together with 113 in a single session – because the vacationers rallied from 91 for 4 at lunch to 240 for 5 by tea.
Marsh was excellent, however England had been left ruing one more glorious place squandered within the sequence after the ev and accomplice Travis Head, who stays unbeaten on 39, had been each put down early of their innings.
Brilliant spells from Stuart Broad and Mark Wood had seen the vacationers’ high order blown away, the one blot on the morning for England being a easy likelihood put down by Jonny Bairstow when Head glanced down the leg-side on 9. Soon after the interval, Chris Woakes should have had Marsh dismissed on 12, however Joe Root didn’t take a routine catch at slip.
Marsh, introduced again into the aspect rather than Cameron Green after the first-choice all-rounder pulled up sore following the Lord’s Test, was ruthless in punishing the house aspect, placing on an exhibition of ball-striking to motor to his third Test hundred off 102, the earlier two additionally having come in opposition to England.
The residence groups issues had been added to by Ollie Robinson’s departure from the sphere, the fast being assessed by medical employees after pulling up mid-over. To add insult to harm, the substitute fielder on in his place fumbled when Marsh might need been run-out scampering a fast single to succeed in three figures.
England had, earlier, made an outstanding begin to the day, after Ben Stokes received the toss and elected to bat. Broad struck within the first over of the morning to dismiss David Warner for the sixteenth time in Test cricket, whereas Wood bowled Usman Khawaja with a 95mph supply, earlier than the important thing wickets of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne fell to go away Australia on the point of collapse.
Both openers had been booed on their technique to the crease – as had Australian captain Pat Cummins on the toss – because the Headingley crowd made their emotions clear on final Sunday’s occasions at Lord’s, the place Yorkshire batter Bairstow was stumped in controversial style by Alex Carey.
A 43-run defeat within the capital left England 2-0 down within the sequence and now needing to turn into solely the second aspect to return again from that deficit to assert the Urn.
At Leeds, with poor climate forecast for the weekend, England had been in want of a quick begin and after Ben Stokes had received the toss and elected to bowl, Broad delivered it. The seamer, the main wicket-taker throughout the primary two Tests, discovered the sting with simply his fifth ball of the day as Zak Crawley took an outstanding catch at slip to ship Warner on his manner for 4.
Khawaja and Labuschagne took benefit of a fast outfield to regular the ship, however the introduction of Wood, taking part in for the primary time within the sequence, swung the momentum again England’s manner.
Every ball of the Durham fast’s opening four-over spell was clocked between 91mph and 96.5mph, his common velocity of 92.9mph the second-fastest in England Tests since CricViz started recording the metric in 2006. The last supply of that spell proved the decisive one, honing by Khawaja’s defences to crash into middle-stump.
Wood had been certainly one of three new faces introduced into the XI, together with Moeen Ali and Woakes, and the latter, taking part in his first Test in additional than a yr, additionally picked up a wicket earlier than lunch as Labuschagne’s middling sequence continued, the batter caught at slip by Joe Root for 21.
Bairstow’s drop of Head briefly dampened spirits, however they had been lifted within the very subsequent over as a disbelieving Smith was despatched on his manner after DRS confirmed a feathered edge by to the ‘keeper.