Twitter Reactions: Mitchell Marsh surprisingly breaks the back of England on Day-1

Who would have thought that Australia will win the toss and opt to bowl first on a track that seemed really good for batting? Even before the game started, there was a lot of debate about this decision from Tim Paine. There was nothing much on offer for the bowlers early on and Australia was clearly under fire. However, just before more criticism was on their way, the Kangaroo bowlers bounced back hard. Mitchell Marsh, of all the bowlers, stunned the Englishmen with a determined effort.

Pat Cummins was the first to get a wicket on the day. He dismissed Joe Denly for 14 and rocked England back early. However, there was a good partnership between Rory Burns and Joe Root after this. Both these men played really well through the first session and looked good. At 103/1, England was cruising along nicely. That’s when Josh Hazlewood joined the party to dismiss the left-hander for 47.

Later, it was Mitchell Marsh who created all the ruckus with the ball. Ben Stokes was dismissed for 20 followed by the wicket of Jonny Bairstow for 22. In between, Pat Cummins cleared up Joe Root for 57 runs exactly as he did in the second innings of the fourth Test. Mitchell Marsh then went on to dismiss Sam Curran and Chris Woakes as well for 15 and 2 runs respectively.

Jos Buttler continues to fight on

With Marsh picking up these four important wickets and also with the other bowlers chipping in, the Brits were brought down from 103/1 to 205/7. At this stage, it didn’t seem as if it’d take too long for Australia to bowl them out. However, Jos Buttler came up with a terrific fightback where he pushed England into a slightly advantageous position with his aggressive batting. He remained unbeaten on 64 at the close of play on Day-1 and has got Jack Leach for company.

England’s score currently reads 271/8 and Australia will look to breakthrough early with the new ball tomorrow. Twitterati was all praise for Mitchell Marsh for his heroics on his comeback. They also enjoyed the efforts from Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. The English fans want Jos Buttler to go on and get to triple figures on Day-2.

Here is how Twitterati reacted: