Leeds: Should Mitchell Marsh mark out his run-up on day one of the third Ashes Test it will not be a repeat of his amusing wind-up on the first morning at Edgbaston two weeks ago.
Marsh will play his first Test in four years if Cameron Green does not recover from soreness in time for the beginning of the match at Headingley on Thursday.
The series-ending calf injury to Nathan Lyon during the second Test at Lord’s forced Green to carry a heavier workload than usual. The tall, young all-rounder, who has a history of back problems, bowled 22 overs at Lord’s, almost twice as many as his Test average of 13 overs across 23 matches.
While Green, 24, has bowled more than 22 overs in a Test three times, there was extra strain during the Lord’s Test because of the sustained bouncer barrage the Australians launched at England on the flat pitch.
In response, England captain Ben Stokes hammered Green for three sixes in a row, the last of which brought up a century during a brilliant innings of 155, but Australia held their nerve to win by 43 runs and go 2-0 up in the series.
The Australians have delayed naming their team until the toss to give Green as much time as possible to recovery, but he won’t be picked if he is not fit to bowl. With only three days between the second and third Tests Australia are loath to risk such a valuable cricketer in the making.
Mitchell Marsh (left) will take the place of Cameron Green if the all-rounder isn’t passed fit to play at Headingley.Credit: Getty
A fully fit allrounder is essential during this Ashes tour, where the Australians play six Tests inside eight weeks, the World Test Championship final and then five matches against England.
Captain Pat Cummins confirmed on Wednesday that Todd Murphy would play his first Ashes Test in place of the injured Lyon, while Scott Boland is favoured to replace Josh Hazlewood.
Hazlewood appears to have recovered well from a tough final day at Lord’s, doing some light bowling at an optional training session on Wednesday, but given his injury history of playing just four Tests over the previous two home summers, the Australians are likely to take a precautionary approach given the tight turnaround between Lord’s and Headingley.
While Australia will recast their bowling, England have made wholesale changes to their side after vice-captain Ollie Pope was ruled out for the remainder of the series with a recurring shoulder injury.
Mark Wood has replaced veteran paceman Jimmy Anderson in England’s third Test squad.Credit: Getty
Harry Brook, who looked unsettled against Australia’s short-pitched bowling at Lord’s, has been promoted to No.3 and wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow moves up to No.5. Moeen Ali returns to the team after recovering from an injured spinning finger and bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes has been recalled for his first Test in more than a year.
Express bowler Mark Wood comes in replacing veteran seamer Jimmy Anderson, 41 this month, who has struggled in the first two Tests.
England have chosen the extra bowler because Stokes admitted he may not be able to bowl at all following his heroics at Lord’s. The skipper is carrying a chronic left knee injury which has severely restricted his bowling.
“I’m not going to lie, that last week took it out of me a little bit,” Stokes said. “So a big part of something that I had to think of was what would be the best team if I wasn’t to bowl a ball this game, in the worst case scenario. It doesn’t mean I’m not going to bowl, but that was a huge part of the thinking about the team that we picked.”
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