Mitchell Marsh hadn’t played Test cricket since the 2019 Ashes. In his first four Tests in England, he had the highest score of 27*. He had flown in with the Australian squad as the “16th member” of the squad, only as a cover for Cameron Green.
Well, now Mitchell Marsh has got another wind in his Test career as he smacked a cracker-jacker of a Test century against England, in the third Test of the Ashes 2023, at Headingley, Leeds.
While it was the England seam-bowling all-rounder Ben Stokes who headlined the last day of the Headingley Test in the 2019 Ashes, today, it’s his counterpart Australian seam-bowling all-rounder Mitchell Marsh who hogged the headlines on Day 1 of the Headingley Test in Ashes 2023.
And Mitchell made his century with incredible oomph, showcasing his power and strength and his fearless brand of cricket, something that would have made Stokes and McCullum proud. And he did all of it after coming into bat when Australia were struggling in the first session at 85/4 after being sent into bat first by Stokes under cloudy skies.
For once, even Travis Head was pushed to the role of an anchor while Marsh was the aggressor. That tells you the quality and domination of his knock in Leeds today. Marsh had showcased his intention early on when he looked to pull the fiery Mark Wood, who was breathing fire in the first session. Even as he missed his pull, Marsh didn’t sway away from his plan and character the took the bowling head-on.
He rattled 118 runs in 118 balls (in an innings what fans are now calling Marshball) with the help of 17 fours and 4 disdainfully struck sixes. His partnership of 155(168) with Head brought Australia out of early trouble and put the pressure back on England.
Glenn Maxwell’s hails ‘Bison’ Mitchell Marsh for thunderous century
Marsh’s white-ball teammate Glenn Maxwell took to Twitter to hail ‘Bison’ Mitchell Marsh. Maxwell took to Twitter to post this tweet:
YES BISON!!!!! 💯👏👏👏👏👏❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
— Glenn Maxwell (@Gmaxi_32) July 6, 2023
Why is Mitchell Marsh called Bison?
Bison is Mitchell Marsh’s nickname among the Australian players, given to him by former pacer Jason Gillespie, because his head seems very heavy like a Bison.
