England have got some work to do in the Third Test of the Ashes series but they have left themselves in a favourable position having lost just three wickets while chasing 263 Australian runs at Headingley.
Having been freshly called up for this Test, Mark Wood was sensational bowling for England on Thursday afternoon as he took five wickets from the Aussies to make up for some lackadaisical fielding from his teammates.
Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root had a few blunders when trying to catch their opponents out. Wood and Stuart Broad did their best with their bowling but Australia had all the answers with Mitchell Marsh having an incredible performance in the crease and he was hitting boundaries consistently. He notched 118 runs from 118 balls single handedly and he was completely running the show at Headingley, while helped by England’s disappointing catching display.
Marsh was finally dismissed after Chris Woakes trapped the batsman who had been running riot all afternoon. It was something that England desperately needed but it remained to be seen whether or not it would be a turning point.
That was the most frustrating thing about the opening day of the Third Test and the series in general. It was seeing a team stacked with quality struggling with basics which was giving the Aussies the upper hand.
After the interval, England came out with a point to prove and they were fired up. Mark Wood showed his class once again as he eliminated Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins within three bowls, which livened up the home crowd. Wood continued to dazzle the crowd with some majestic bowls and he lured pantomime villain Alex Carey into sending his shot straight into the palms of Chris Woakes to get Australia heading towards the clubhouse.
When England stepped up to the crease, they didn’t get off to the best of starts as Harry Brook and Ben Duckett were seen off by two great bowls from Cummins which were caught by Smith and Carey respectively. Marsh, adding to his exquisite batting display, threw Zak Crawley off with a fast throw, leading to David Warner catching him out.
While it wasn’t ideal for England to lose three wickets so early in their innings, there is more than enough talent left to chase down the 195 remaining runs they need to catch Australia heading into the second day.. And they will be hoping that one of their own can channel a similar batting performance to the show that Marsh put on for their opponents.
