‘Hated’ Marsh swings opening day in Australia’s favour
test, and first since Boxing Day against India. With a batting average of 25 and bowling average of 44 Marsh is Australia’s most polarising test player and admitted he was aware of the background noise every time he’s picked.
‘‘Australians are passionate, they love their cricket, they want people to do well. There’s no doubt I’ve had a lot of opportunity at test level and haven’t quite nailed it,’’ he said.
‘‘But hopefully they can respect me for the fact that I keep coming For the latest on the fifth Ashes test, go to stuff.co.nz
back and I love playing for Australia. Hopefully I’ll win them [fans] over one day.’’
Marsh, recalled alongside Peter Siddle as Australia hunt their first Ashes series win in England since 2001, trudged off late because of cramp. It was the only thing that went wrong on a dominant day for the West Australian.
A counter-punch from Jos Buttler, who shared an unbeaten 45-run stand with Jack Leach, delivered the latest twist on a topsyturvy day.
Joe Root failed to make the most of dropped catches on 24, 25 and 30; falling for 57 as Marsh made amends for his team-mates’ sloppiness.
The allrounder replaced Travis Head in the XI that retained the urn in Manchester to offer the pace attack some relief, with captain Tim Paine noting Marsh had ‘‘worked his backside off’’ and was ‘‘aspiring to’’ match Stokes’ work ethic.
Marsh did far more than hold up an end, igniting a collapse of 5-75 when a mistimed pull shot from Stokes somehow resulted in a skied catch for Nathan Lyon at point.
The 27-year-old, who generated impressive swing, removed Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran and Chris Woakes to snare 3-17 in an eightover spell after tea. Marsh also held a catch at mid-on to dismiss Rory Burns for 47, that wicket coming after Siddle, Paine and Steve Smith grassed chances offered by Root. For the fourth time in six years, Canterbury United Pride will begin the National Women’s Football League season with the trophy locked away at their English Park home.
The other six teams – each representing one of New Zealand Football’s regional federations – will be asking: How do we stop this juggernaut?
Auckland did it two years ago, getting up 3-2 in extra time on the Pride’s home turf, while Northern did it two years before that, beating the Pride 4-3.
Since 2013, the year they first won the title, the Pride have played 45 regular season matches, winning 33, drawing five and losing only seven.
Only one team comes close to matching that – the Northern Lights, who won the league in 2011 and 2012 and were defeated by the Pride in the 2013 and 2018 finals. They have won 30 of their 45 matches since 2013, while the nextbest team, Capital, have won just 22.
As the season starts, the Pride and the Lights will be favourites to meet in the final for the second year in a row.
Auckland, Capital and Southern United will all be trying to ensure that doesn’t happen, but Central and Waikato-Bay of Plenty are likely to be fighting for scraps.
If the Pride and the Lights do meet in the decider in midDecember, it will be the fourth final between the two teams, who have had a fierce rivalry since their first meeting in 2013. The Pride have won six of their 10 meetings, while the Lights have won three, with the lone draw coming in 2017.
With Football Ferns midfielder Annalie Longo on board, the Pride will boast the best player in the competition, a distinction made clearer now that her international teammate Sarah Gregorius has left Capital for the Netherlands and a role with FIFPro, the international players’ union.
Several other age-group and senior internationals have moved on after being key figures in the league in recent years, whether to professional clubs, as is the case with Paige Satchell and Vic Esson, or US colleges, a path taken by Anna Leat, Grace Jale, Hannah Blake and Nicole Mettam among others.
Stepping up in their place will be a new crop of players, many of whom featured in the team that finished third at last year’s Fifa Under17 World Cup in Uruguay – the likes of Aneka Mittendorff, Gabi Rennie, Kelli Brown and Maggie Jenkins. 2019 National Women’s League, round one (all games tomorrow): ■ 11.30am: Southern United v Central, Logan Park, Dunedin.
■ 1pm: Canterbury United Pride v Capital, English Park, Christchurch.
■ 2pm: Waikato-Bay of Plenty v Auckland, John Kerkhof Park, Cambridge.