Marsh copies efforts of dad

ON the ground where his father’s career ended suddenly, Shaun Marsh last night gave his extraordinary journey a stunning rebirth.

The most maligned Australian cricketer since Shaun produced a landmark Ashes century that has shaped the course of the second Test and pushed England to the brink of falling off the cliff in Adelaide.

Australia’s selectors were spectacularly vindicated over two of the most controversial picks in recent history, with Marsh and Tim Paine batting the house down and guaranteeing England would have to go in to bat at the exact moment when Mitchell Starc could wreak havoc under lights.

Australia declared at 8-442 thanks to Marsh’ unbeaten 126 and Pat Cummins’ timely 44.

England then finished at 1-29 as rain prompted an early stumps, with Starc pinning Mark Stoneman to send an early shudder into the order.

England’s disastrous day summed up by a near-horror moment in the field on the stroke of dinner, when James Vince literally knocked a catch from Marsh out of Alastair Cook’s hands as the slips both went for the same ball and were desperately lucky not to collide more dangerously.

Joe Root’s decision to bowl first has now officially become a nightmare and for overs bled, worse than one-time skipper Nasser Hussain’s infamous howler at the Gabba in 2002.

Paine’s momentum-shifting half century was as courageous a knock as they come, but Australia are now sweating on how the keeper’s troubled right index finger pulls up after he copped some brutal blows early yesterday.

Marsh has had nine incarnations in the Australian team, but last night the 34-year-old saved his best for last.

After a 16-year journey punctuated by injury and form fluctuations, Marsh now has five Test centuries to take him past the proud mark set by his father Geoff, one of Australia’s hard-yakka warriors.