"Marsh bazballing England" - Fans react as Mitchell Marsh smashes century on his comeback in 3rd Ashes Test

Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh starred with the bat on his Test comeback after nearly four years on Day 1 of the third Ashes Test at Headingley, Leeds, on Thursday, July 6.

The right-hander, who replaced Cameron Green in the playing XI, smashed run-a-ball 118, including 17 boundaries and four sixes.

The Perth-born cricketer completed his half-century in 59 balls and then took the aggressive route to reach his ton. Interestingly, Marsh played his last Test against the same side at the Oval in England in September 2019.

The 31-year-old also shared a 155-run partnership with Travis Head for the fifth wicket to recover the visitors from 85/4.

Marsh, who was dropped by Joe Root at slips on 12, grabbed the opportunity with both hands. It was the joint-most century by a No. 6 in the Ashes. The elite list includes Steve Waugh, Doug Walters, and Maurice Leyland.

Fans on Twitter hailed Mitchell Marsh for his counter-attack to recover Australia, who are already 2-0 ahead in the series.

One tweeted:

"Marsh is bazballing England and completely bamboozling them at the moment. Australia just proving once again how they're here to win!"

Here are some of the other best Twitter reactions:

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Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head put Australia in command at Tea on Day 1

A clinical batting performance from Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head (39* off 67 balls) helped Australia reach 240/5 at Tea on Day 1. Alex Carey will now join Head when play resumes for the third session.

Earlier in the day, England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to field. They dominated the first session, as Australia scored 85/4 at Lunch.

Besides Marsh, Scott Boland and Todd Murphy are the other players drafted in the Australia playing XI. The duo replaced Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, the latter of whom has been ruled out of the Ashes due to a calf injury.

Meanwhile, the hosts have made three changes in the form of Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, and Moeen Ali. The trio replaced James Anderson, Josh Tongue, and Ollie Pope (shoulder injury), respectively.

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England Playing XI: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Harry Brook, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood.

Australia Playing XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Todd Murphy, Scott Boland.

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