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From ‘most hated Australian’ to 'first man to score Ashes century on UK holiday': Mitchell Marsh punishes England
Mitchell Marsh smashed a run-a-ball 118 while coming in to bat when Australia where struggling at 85/4 on Day 1 after being put in to bat by England.
"Most of Australia hates me right now..." said Mitchell Marsh four years ago after an Ashes Test against England at The Oval. That, incidentally, was also the all-rounder's last appearance in a Test match until he got an opportunity to don the baggy green again in the third Test at Headingley in the ongoing Ashes. And what he did with the bat on his return to red-ball cricket may not have elevated him to the "most-loved" Australian but it certainly was enough to drag him out of the "hated by most" category.
Marsh, who replaced the injured Cameron Green for the third Test, smashed a run-a-ball 118 while coming in to bat when Australia where struggling at 85/4 on Day 1 after being put in to bat by England skipper Ben Stokes.
"On a long tour you always get a chance at some stage, I just wanted to stay ready," Marsh told reporters after stumps. "It was a bit of a surprise and very unfortunate for Greeny."
To highlight the importance of Marsh's knock - his third Test century and first outside Australia - one needs to look at the situation of the match. 13 wickets fell on Day 1. Take out Marsh's contribution from Australia's total, they are left with only 145. The next top-scorer after Marsh in Australia's line-up was Travis Head (39). The pitch offered enough sideways movement and bounce for seamers of both sides but Marsh countered all of that and the blistering pace of Mark Wood to bulldoze his way to 17 fours and four sixes.
A lot may have changed for Marsh the cricketer from where he was in 2019 but there was very little difference in the way he handled the press with his witty one-liners.
Marsh joked that, due to his understudy role, he was the "first man to score an Ashes hundred on a UK holiday".
He added: "There's always times when you spend a bit of time away from the game where you think you might not get back.
"It's taken a lot of hard work, I chose to have ankle surgery and miss last summer to get on this tour knowing I was going to be Greeny's understudy. I'm really proud to get back."
When asked how he maintained his morale while out of the Australia team, Marsh pointed to his Baggy Green cap and said: "I wanted to wear it one more time."
'Wouldn't mind going back to my UK holiday': Mitchell Marsh
Marsh credited his upbringing on the hard wickets of Western Australia for coming out on top against express quick Wood.
Marsh said he "could lean on my experience of growing up at the WACA (the Western Australia Cricket Association ground in Perth) against fast bowling, sink or swim from a very early age."
But he wouldn't be drawn on his chances of playing the next Test in Manchester, joking: "I wouldn't mind going back to my UK holiday to be honest."
England closed on 68-3, with Marsh saying the game was "pretty evenly poised".
Marsh put the icing on what easily turned out to be the best day of his stop-and-start Test career by dismissing England opener Zak Crawley towards the end of the first day's play.
