Ashes 2023 LIVE updates: Australia chasing day two wickets as Root, Bairstow resume for England

Leeds: In the afternoon shadows of Headingley’s Western Terrace – the notorious gathering spot in English cricket for disorderly conduct and mischief-making – three burly men stood dragging on cigarettes and sipping beer.

Two of them were draped in ponchos, sporting fake moustaches and wearing sombreros. The other, a tight-fitting short dress made from the flag of St George, complemented by a blonde wig.

Out of nowhere, a rowdy Australian arrived in a gold XXXX bucket hat and Hawaiian shirt.

“Which one of you whingeing Pommy bastards has got a light?” he yelled at the top of his voice.

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It’s taken a long time, but Mitchell Marsh now feels the love. It will only grow after his brilliant, belligerent century against England on the opening day of the third Test.

Playing his first Test in four years, Marsh, 31, was only afforded the opportunity because of a minor hamstring strain for Australia’s next big thing, Cameron Green, 24.

Marsh once carried the same expectations as a talented all-rounder but, by the time he lined up for the last Test at the Oval in 2019, his first Test of the tour, he openly admitted “most people in Australia hate me.”

That, Marsh believes, started to change almost two years ago when he capped an impressive Twenty20 World Cup in the UAE by playing the innings of his life in the final against New Zealand, scoring an unbeaten 77 from 50 balls as Australia cantered to a record-breaking eight-wicket win and their first T20 title.

“I felt a bit more love, and when you’re not failing every second week they seem to like you a bit more,” Marsh said with his permanent, cheeky smile.

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