- Mitchell Marsh’s Heroics and Mark Wood’s Electrifying Performance Shape Opening Day of Ashes Test
- Marsh’s Brilliant Century and Wood’s Five-Wicket Haul Propel Australia’s Dominance
- England’s Sloppy Fielding and Struggles with Australia’s Pace Attack
Due of the hate surrounding this vital third Ashes Test, fresh faces and pure minds may dominate the opening day. 13 wickets fell at Headingley, as quick bowling and swift scoring swung the pendulum.
Mark Wood, who missed the first two Tests, played well for the opposition. Wood averaged 90,5 mph and peaked at 96.5 mph on the speed gun, posing a threat to Ben Stokes. Australia lost Marsh’s hard effort with his five for 34, which hurt the captain’s chances of overturning a 2-0 disadvantage.
Marsh and Travis Head scored 155 runs after being dropped at slip by Joe Root on 12.
He etched his name into Headingley’s all-rounder folklore with 17 fours and four sixes, wielding his bat like a blacksmith, four years after his last Test appearance after the 2019 Ashes. He was given this surprise recall due to Cameron Green’s injury.
After Chris Woakes, the denied bowler, nicked off Marsh at tea, Wood effectively ended the day for the newcomers. The last four of his lightning strikes occurred as the tourists lost six wickets for 23 runs in 51 balls – no cheer was louder than Pat Cummins being trapped leg before for a duck – and he led England off the pitch genuinely beaming after claiming his maiden five-wicket haul in a home Test.
England still had work to do before the conclusion, and they did not emerge unscathed. With Root on 19 and Bairstow on one, the second day is crucial to avoiding an early Ashes loss. Root and Bairstow were responsible for England’s sloppy fielding performance on the first day.
Australia will be confident because when it was their turn to bowl, they relished the conditions.
Ben Duckett and Harry Brook fell for single figures after being dismissed by the severely booed Cummins, and even though Zak Crawley appeared to be thriving on his way to 33, that man Marsh could not be kept out of the contest, and an edge flew to slip.
Richard Robinson, a stalwart of the Bradford League, deserves credit for making his first Test pitch as chief groundsman at Headingley so dissimilar to the stifling conditions observed at Edgbaston and Lord’s. The living grass he left behind caused lateral movement and increased speed and momentum.
Marsh, who played on Western Australia’s bouncy surfaces, and England’s reorganised attack liked this. As Stuart Broad continued his dominance over David Warner with the fifth delivery of the morning, an edge flew to Crawley at the second slip, Jimmy Anderson, who had previously been neutered, could be heard grumbling on the sidelines about missing out.
England’s human cannonball unleashed some of the quickest bowling seen in these parts during Wood’s opening burst. Fred Trueman would have had something to say about this. When the final delivery of Wood’s four-over spell knocked over Usman Khawaja’s leg stump, the disparity became evident.
It also required collectors to be more vigilant than ever, yet England’s struggles continued. Two of the three Yorkshiremen on display were at fault, with Root missing three opportunities and Bairstow two.
In his 100th Test, the custodian saved Steve Smith from an inside edge.
Ollie Robinson was the man denied on a particularly trying day, as the junior member of a greybeard attack (29) withdrew from his 12th over due to a back spasm and did not return. Smith might have cashed in, but England took the morning session due to Broad’s inside edge on 22 and Woakes’ dismissal of Marnus Labuschagne on 21.
Head had already experienced life at this point but dropped by Bairstow on eight when he sent Wood down leg. But while England’s short-ball strategies kept the normally quick-scoring left-hander silent, the absence of Robinson meant more work for Moeen Ali and Marsh, who were already destroying the seamers. He scored 113 runs in the session, including a century called up by a fielding error.
During this period of one-way traffic, Wood bowled just three overs. But once the ever-reliable Woakes sent both set men packing either side of tea – Head caught at slip by Root for 39 the ball after dismissing Carey – it became the fast show again, with Australia’s lower order visibly perturbed and unable to contend with Wood’s speeds.
The West Stand, formerly the infamous Western Terrace, was well-oiled, and Carey and Cummins were met with particularly hostile receptions. As was the vicious Wood short-ball that clattered into Carey’s headgear. The forerunner to Australia’s wicketkeeper retreating on eight and spooning a routine catch to cover.
England could have shown more worry here, but the battle lines have altered.
