A strong show by Rory Joseph Burns (47), Joe Root (57) and top-scorer Jos Buttler (64) put England at 271/8 at stumps on Day 1 of the fifth Test against Australia at the Kia Oval in London, with the home side sliding from 170-3 to 226-8 as the day progressed.
Mitchell Marsh picked up four wickets for 35—a career best—after being called in to replace Travis Head for this match.
Marsh had foregone a $3 million opportunity to play in the Indian Premier League to play for the English county Surrey and the Australian Test squad, but he was not selected for the first four matches. He got his chance in the final match of the Ashes, with Australia poised to secure their first series win in England since 2001.
Marsh dispatched Ben Stokes with a short ball and Jonny Bairstow, Sam Cummins and Chris Woakes with full length deliveries.
Australia missed out on five wickets in total due to dropped catches, a no-ball an a DRS-overturned LBW, an opportunity England failed to capitalise on. Nonetheless, Root shined through briefly when he reached the 7,000 test run mark in this match—making him the third-youngest batsmen to do so after Alastair Cook and Sachin Tendulkar.
Buttler led England’s counter-attack after the home side were 226-8, scoring his first half-century in this series, with Jack Leach keeping him company. Buttler’s comeback helped take England to 271, but whether this score will be sufficient for the likes of Steve Smith will remain to be seen.
