Yes I can see that point of view PH. However there is also an argument if they win the toss they should bat and try and get a big score on the board. It will depend a lot on the state of the pitch and the overhead conditions but I think the Australians have shown that they can stick in there when the going gets tough. So if they can get through the first 2 hours relatively unscathed it might be easier after that
If they can bat for 4 or 5 sessions and get 400+, that would put a lot of scoreboard pressure on England to bat in an adventurous way which then would open up wicket opportunities for the Aussies. If weather takes some time out of the game on days 4 and 5, Australia may still be batting in the 3rd innings and they would be under no obligation to set England any sort of target at all so it would be up to the poms to bowl us out in the time available.
Will be interesting to see if the bumper war resumes and what the umpires will do about it this time. The officials at the Lords test were asleep at the wheel for most of that game
I expect an all out England attack and we’ll see some of the 20 over rubbish dished up
half expecting England to bat first here
Huge opportunity for the Bison ? if he’s in the eleven. Loss of Green in the gully is massive. Banging in relentless short pitched deliveries is such an unnatural thing for a bowler to do I’m surprised more aren’t breaking down.
Boland , Marsh & Murphy in
lost the flip but will get the chance to bat it out
penny’s dropped England knows they have to bowl Australia out
Good first session by the Poms.
Wood bowled with good pace.
Broads bowling well along with Woakes.
Hope for a big Mitch Marsh innings
Well Mitch certainly answered your prayers gtr…great knock and an important wicket at the close of play. Wood shows the importance of express pace to blow away the tail…lots of starts by the Aust top order…only 1 went on and what a knock that was…Green may have to twiddle his thumbs for the rest of the tour…
The two Yorkshire boys at the crease, early wickets are the go if Aust want to keep Eng from getting away from them…though a bit of wet weather is forecasted after day 2, adding more importance to the 1st session on day 2…Eng with their noses in front…but happy to see it get put out of place tomorrow, preferably flattened TBH.
An amazing innings by Marsh. He looked totally focused and comfortable on a pitch that was the quickest I have ever seen in England. He has played innings like that at the WACA but mostly for the Scorchers. His power was brutal and he seemed to play with the freedom of a man who had nothing to lose. All the other Australian batsmen looked completely at sea. Wood was just too fast for them. Once Marsh had departed the whole innings fell apart. The top order struggled as well, there were a few starts but noone bar Mitch went on with it.
3 wickets before stumps brought us back into it somewhat but we will need to add more on Day 2 to truly get on an even footing. Breaking the partnership between the two Yorkshiremen early is the first priority. The pitch is still doing enough and a first innings lead of any amount would be gold.
outstanding dig from Marsh , hopefully Green watched every second of it because that’s what he has to do
but it really showed up the top order - fresh blood is an absolute must
Englands bowling was spot on and the Aussies could have easily been bowled out for 130 if not for dropped catches. Joe Roots missing Marsh at 12 was the most costly but Bairstow also dropped a few that he should have taken as well. Carey once more showed the value of a specialist keeper when he took a brilliant one to get rid of Duckett.
Wood was amazing with his speeds and he was quoted as saying that he could bowl even faster. If England can keep him fit, he may yet be able to get them back into the series
If the Aussies can get their bowling and catching right today, they will give England problems as the pitch is doing a lot.
A selection dilemma looms if Green is fit for the 4th test, how can they drop Mitch after an innings like that and a top order wicket in the bag as well?
Absolute masterclass by Mitch Marsh did what Stokes has done to us a couple of times. Haven’t seen how he got out yet but I was saying to myself he and Head have to be there at stumps or at least one of them.
Will do Green the world of good to take break and sit back and watch Mitch go about it for a while. I haven’t been impressed by Greens approach to batting. Seems far too defensive and conservative then gets out to a rash shot. Hopefully Mitch Marsh gets a good run at it, had a lot of bad luck with injuries.
Marsh has now taken Green’s spot and Green will have to fight for his place back in the team. The way some talk about Green you would think he is Gary Sobers.
The first session tonight is super important. If we can get a few wickets while the ball is still fairly new and there is still a bit in the pitch, we can have a handy first innings lead. I think with Moin batting 7 they have a bit of a tail - especially with Robinson injured - Does anyone know what he did and how it ended up?
As for Green yes, he will have to be the drinks carrier for the rest of the tournament, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing for him. I Think he will be a superstar in time and just glimpses show how good he could be however he needs to remember that with the way his body is, and how young he is preparation and hard work is key.
I’m not saying he doesn’t work hard - but he seems to need time to feel comfortable at the crease, and with his back injury history he doesn’t look fluid bowling yet. If you think back through history even the best young players have hit bumps along the way, but from as far back as I can remember, the best young player to take time finding his feet was Steve Waugh. And it took him so long to score his first hundred he nearly got dropped a number of times early on until he found his mojo.
Again, I’m not saying Greene is going to be as good as Waugh, but even the best can struggle early and i think at times based on the commentary from the media who paint him as a super star we forget he is a young man finding his feet. He is very fortunate the side has won a lot over his time, or he may have got dropped earlier.
Enjoy night 2
Robinson had back spasms.
two big hits early - more Stokes fireworks ?
Smash’m in the Bazballs. Keep the foot on the throat and wrap the Ashes up 3 nil. Stokes will be lucky to see out this match and the series. Robinson has back issues. It’s a great wicket.
Stokes continues to make a mockery of our bowlers helped by inept catching!!!
He has Cummins rattled.
Brainless tactics by Australia have allowed England to dig themselves out of a massive hole and just about wipe out the lead. Such a waste of a good mornings play when all they needed was 3 yorkers to tailend batsmen. England have all the momentum going into the 2nd innings.
Even though Murphy finally got Stokes, he was hit for 5 sixes before that. Talk about throwing the kid to the wolves.
Some continue to believe Cummins is a great Captain Mike 
Warner out again to Broad. How many more times does this have to happen before the selectors get the message?