Sent in to bat on a seamer-friendly pitch, Australia faced early trouble as Stuart Broad and Wood wreaked havoc, claiming the wickets of Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith within the first 30 overs. The Australian top order crumbled, but Mitchell Marsh emerged as their saviour.
Making a comeback after a four-year absence from Test cricket, Marsh displayed a remarkable century, scoring a run-a-ball 118. His aggressive batting, including four massive sixes, completely turned the tide in Australia’s favour and silenced the Headingley crowd that had been taunting the Australians.
Marsh’s partnership with Travis Head helped Australia recover from 85/4 to reach 240/5 in just 30 overs. It was a demonstration of the kind of aggressive batting that England has struggled to produce in the Ashes series. However, Marsh’s departure, after a fortunate inside-edge off Chris Woakes, led to a collapse in the Australian innings, with Mark Wood’s pace causing havoc.
118 balls
118 runs
17 fours
4 sixes
Third Test century
Third Ashes century
Mitchell Marsh
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— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 6, 2023
England faced a challenging period of play, but they managed to keep the damage to 63/3 by the end of the day, thanks to a spirited spell from Australian captain Pat Cummins. With England’s top three batters dismissed, Australia maintained their advantage and looked to build on their strong performance on the opening day of the Test match.
Brief scores: England 68-3 (Zak Crawley 33; Pat Cummins 2/28) trail Australia 263 (Mitchell Marsh 118, Travis Head 39; Mark Wood 5/34, Chris Woakes 3/73) by 195 runs.
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