Warm-ups don’t always tell us much about what may transpire in a day’s play. For evidence of that, witness Mitchell Marsh marking his run on the first morning of this Ashes series, a wind-up that briefly went around the world.
Yet on the opening day at Headingley there were two early signals that proved very true to what would follow. Marsh marked his run with purpose rather than mirth, ahead of his first Test match since 2019 and an unforgettable century, including the first in a session by an Australian in England since Stan McCabe in 1938.
Mitch Marsh celebrates his century.Credit: Reuters
On the practice pitches near the Western Terrace, meanwhile, Mark Wood did not so much warm-up as press ignition. His deliveries flew through to the waiting baseball mitt, not merely with speed but also late away swing – greatly increasing the degree of difficulty for those facing him.
When he took the newish ball from the Kirkstall Lane End, Wood unleashed balls of firebrand pace and fiendish late movement in the air. He blasted out the leg stump of the previously unbowlable Usman Khawaja, and later returned to pluck 4-5 as Australia’s tail was docked inside half an hour.
Together, Marsh and Wood combined with a tremendous, pacy and lively pitch to make for the most high octane cricket of this endlessly watchable Ashes series. Their entries to the series had been delayed by selection in Marsh’s case and uncertain fitness status for Wood, but the conditions suited both men perfectly, as edges carried, there was value for shots and some seam movement all day.
As a son of the West Australian and former Test vice-captain Geoff, Mitch Marsh had been raised on the fast surfaces of the WACA Ground in Perth. He is a phenomenally powerful driver of the full ball, while the pull and cut shots are meat and drink.
Chosen alongside a teenaged Pat Cummins for their first Australian tour together in South Africa in 2011, Marsh quickly became firm friends with his future Test captain, but endured a much more mixed relationship with the Australian public.
His career has featured numerous passages of time in and out of the side, with the twin peaks of his scoring during the 2017-18 Ashes series and some brutal innings in the 2021 Twenty20 World Cup victory. In between those moments, Marsh spoke with disarming honesty about how Australians had marked him harshly at times.
“Yeah, most of Australia hate me,” he had said at the Oval in 2019. “Australians are very passionate, they love their cricket, they want people to do well. There’s no doubt I’ve had a lot of opportunity at Test level and I haven’t quite nailed it, but hopefully they can respect me for the fact I keep coming back and I love playing for Australia, I love the baggy green cap and I’ll keep trying and hopefully I’ll win them over one day.”
There was more excitement than trepidation at the news Marsh would play here. He underwent ankle surgery in the summer with the Ashes in mind, and has trained assiduously on tour while adding his warm personality to the group’s social activities.
And, aside from a chance offered to Joe Root shortly after lunch, Marsh’s innings reflected a complete sense of ease about playing at his natural best. The drives were thunderous, the cuts and pulls often played with an axeman’s grunt.
When Marsh leant back to hook Wood’s 150kph delivery into the Western Terrace, he drew gasps of awe as well as applause. His century did not grow into the 232 scored by McCabe nearly a century ago, but it was the kind of innings to draw Don Bradman’s famed reaction to that knock, ushering his teammates out onto the Trent Bridge balcony: “Come and look at this. You will never see the like of this again.”
Perhaps the best indication of Marsh’s success was in how he almost single-handedly succeeded in subduing the crowd. Headingley’s faithful were raucous in the morning and wild in the early evening, but were stunned into silence – bordering on the respectful – for the afternoon.
“I’ve done a lot of work on the mental side of my game,” Marsh said. “People always talk about going out and playing your natural game, which in the Test cauldron is not always easy, but today was as natural as it gets for me.
England’s Mark Wood is the fastest bowler in this contest by a wide margin.Credit: Getty Images
“I felt like I trusted my defence when I needed to, my technique’s not perfect, but I know when I move well enough and make good decisions mentally, that I can defend and keep the good balls out. Outside of that I’m going to play my shots and I got rewarded for that today.”
Marsh’s departure to Chris Woakes on the stroke of tea handed the stage back to Wood, for the performance England so desperately needed at 0-2 down in the series. Its velocity was the greatest ever formally recorded in a Test match in England.
As related in commentary by Eoin Morgan, Wood was always eager to be faster even than Jofra Archer, whenever the pair shared an England squad or training net. Like the last Ashes series in Australia, he is the fastest bowler in this contest by a wide margin, and the cricket played when he bowled had the entire ground transfixed.
Even without the swing he generated, Wood may well have been too fast for the Australian lower order. As it was, he curled through Mitchell Starc, clanged Alex Carey on the helmet then coaxed a slog to cover, and then thudded into Cummins’ back pad before the captain had time to get his bat down. Todd Murphy’s stumps were rattled to round it all off.
Cummins bowled beautifully to unsteady England’s reply, and Marsh showed his worth as a bowler also by tempting Zak Crawley into a nick to slip.
But another fabulous Ashes day will be remembered mainly for three things: Marsh’s hundred, Wood’s devastating speed, and the magnificent pitch that made their spectacular contributions possible.
Watch every ball of the 2023 Ashes series live and exclusive on Channel 9 and 9Now.
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