Ashes 2023: England lost early wickets as they still trail by 196 runs

• Mark Wood took a five-wicket haul to help England dismiss Australia for 263.
• England ended day 1 on 68-3, trailing by 195 runs.
• Australia are leading the Ashes 2023 series by 2-0.

Mark Wood of England shone on an electrifying first day at Headingley with a spectacular five-wicket haul, but the critical third Test of the 5-match Ashes 2023 series is still in a delicate balance.

Despite Mitchell Marsh’s brilliant century and Australia’s total of 263, Wood’s brilliant performance contributed to their dismissal. However, England finished the day losing by 195 runs with a score of 68-3.

6️⃣8️⃣/3️⃣

Joe Root (19*) and Jonny Bairstow (1*) remain unbeaten at the close. #EnglandCricket | #Ashes pic.twitter.com/RHWpU7TIcK

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 6, 2023

Marsh launched a scorching innings of 118 runs off exactly as many balls after England’s bowlers took advantage of winning the toss on a lively pitch to reduce Australia to 85-4. With Travis Head, he dominated a 155-run combination, smashing 17 fours and four sixes. While England’s wasted opportunities, like the drops of Marsh at 12 and Head at 9, hindered their efforts, they managed to bounce back spectacularly following Marsh’s loss in the penultimate over before tea.

Australia collapsed from a solid position of 240-4, losing their final six wickets for just 23 runs. Wood, who was making his debut appearance in the series, showed off his incredible speed and talent to score an astounding 5-34. His bowling once accelerated to an astounding 96.5 mph. Following a difficult 90-minute stretch in the evening, England was defeated by Zak Crawley being removed by Marsh after losing the wickets of Ben Duckett and Harry Brook to Pat Cummins.

Joe Root, the captain of England, finished the game with 19 runs scored while Jonny Bairstow remained scoreless. The host team wants to overturn its 2-0 series lead, which would be the first time in Ashes history that a turnaround of this magnitude has been accomplished, and stop Australia from winning the urn as soon as possible.

When Jonny Bairstow was controversially dismissed at Lord’s before the Test, the atmosphere at Headingley lived up to the hype. Stuart Broad dismissed David Warner for the 16th time in his career with the fifth ball of the day following some jeers during the Australian anthem.

The audience was further energized by Wood’s lightning-fast opening performance, and when Broad caught Steve Smith behind for 22, Australia was four wickets down and the legendary Western Terrace erupted.

Marsh silenced the England fans during the afternoon session with his commanding batting performance, taking advantage of squandered opportunities. But Wood’s outstanding performance energized the audience. The Australian tail was completely destroyed by his stunning spell of four wickets for five runs in just 16 balls, which gave England newfound hope. Late in the innings, Australia fought back and took three key wickets, forcing England to resolutely fight it out.

Mitchell Marsh 🙌

Walked in at 85/4 and has made a hundred in his first Test match since 2019 😎#WTC25 | #ENGvAUS 📝: https://t.co/CIqx6cWyPZ pic.twitter.com/h7z73gMIPF

— ICC (@ICC) July 6, 2023

Although Headingley’s batting conditions tend to get better as the Test goes on, there is a lingering impression that England has let another commanding lead slip because of wasted opportunities. What England had been lacking in prior Tests was highlighted by Wood’s tremendous pace and influence on the game. Questions regarding how the series may have developed differently if he had been present are raised by his absence from the series up until this point owing to injury.

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