Ashes 2023: 3 Main talking points from Headingley Test

The 2023 Ashes have gone better and better after every Test match. On Sunday, fans were elated by some terrific contest between bat and bowl in the Third Ashes Test, where England cruised past Australia to register a much-needed victory to stay alive in the series as well as spice up the series a little bit more. Here are 3 of the main talking points from Headingley Test;

1. Mark Wood shines on his comeback

Comebacks are always stronger than setbacks, it might just seem a normal quote to some people but the fans at Headingley actually witnessed this quote turning into reality as the In the third Ashes Test, fast English bowler Mark Wood delivered a magnificent all-around effort in his comeback to Test cricket. On Sunday, July 9, England won the Headingley Test, regaining momentum in the series thanks to his performances in both innings. Australia still leads the five-match series by a 2-1 margin.

2. England’s fightback despite conceding first innings lead

England proved yet again why they are among the top-ranked sides in the world. Despite regularly being criticized for their Bazball style of cricket, the English team stuck to it and delivered the result in the third Ashes Test. The English team were sublime in their approach right from the Day 1 of the Test. Despite having bad phases in the match the team somehow found a way out. 

After winning the toss, England’s side invited the visitors to bat first. After a great first session for the host, the Australian team showed a tremendous fightback on the back of a counter-attacking century from Mitchell Marsh (118) which helped the World Test Champions post a total of  263 in their first innings. In reply, after an iffy start, the host found some stability with captain Ben Stokes (80) playing a captain’s innings helping the home side to register 237 runs in their first innings giving Australia 26 runs lead. 

The second innings saw a completely different story with England’s pacers were all charged up and looking very much determined to bowl in the right line and length. The English bowlers this time around did not allow the Australian batter to score freely which resulted in bundling out the Australian team for just 224 runs. In a roller coaster, second innings chase, England finally managed to win a thriller Test match by just three wickets on the back of some terrific team performance.

3. Stuart Broad continues his dominance over David Warner

Stuart Broad continued his thumping run against David Warner as he dismissed the Aussie stalwart batter for the 17th time in Test cricket. English speedster added another layer of dominance over the Aussie opener and got his wicket twice in the third Test in Ashes 2023 at Headingley, Leeds.

After dismissing Warner for the 17th time, Broad is on the verge of breaking the Test cricket world record for the most times a bowler has dismissed any batsman. He has surpassed Malcolm Marshall’s 16 dismissals of Graham Gooch to tie for third place overall in the count. With 17 victories, the 37-year-old pacer is tied for third with Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh. He trails only Glenn McGrath with 19 dismissals over Michael Atherton and Alec Bedser with 18 dismissals over Arthur Morris.