ADELAIDE: Shaun Marsh repaid selectors for gambling on his recall with an unbeaten 103 on Sunday, helping lift the Australian total to 409-7 at dinner on day two of the day-night Ashes test.
Marsh batted through the first two sessions on Sunday, surviving an lbw decision and losing three batting partners on his way to his fifth test century and first against England.
The 34-year-old Marsh has been in and out of the Australian test lineup since his debut in 2011, and was most recently dropped during the tour to India in March before getting a recall for the five-test series against England.
He scored an important 51 in Australia's 10-wicket win in the series-opening match in Brisbane last week and needed to dig in again following the loss of early wickets after England won the toss in Adelaide and sent the hosts in to bat.
His century came from 213 balls, and he reached triple figures with a pulled boundary off Chris Woakes. His innings wasn't without chances — he reviewed an lbw decision when he was on 29 and got a reprieve, he got an edge which didn't quite carry to slip on 31 and was dropped again on 102, just before dinner.
He went in with Australia at 161-4 on Saturday and was unbeaten on 20 after a difficult night session on day one.
His stand included important innings-building partnerships of 48 with Peter Handscomb (36), 85 with Tim Paine (57) and an unbeaten stand of 98 for the eighth wicket with Pat Cummins, who was not on 44 at the interval.
Cummins took 37 balls to get off the mark, before finally cutting Craig Overton to the boundary and accelerating quickly from there.
England's pace attack had periods of ascendancy, with Stuart Broad trapping Handscomb on the third ball of the day and returning after the tea break to dismiss Mitchell Starc (6).
In between, Craig Overton managed to get Paine — who posted his third test half century, and first since 2010 — caught at deep backward square after a succession of short-pitch deliveries to mix up the attack.
Jimmy Anderson had two lbw decisions from umpire Chris Gaffaney in successive overs overturned on review by the Australians in the first session, with Marsh and Paine each getting a reprieve.
In the 90th over, Marsh was given out on 29 with the total at 240-5 when Anderson hit him on the knee roll but TV tracker technology showed the ball was going over middle stump.
In the 92nd over, Paine was on 24 when he also was hit in front but the tracker technology indicated the ball was going over.
Otherwise, the first two sessions belonged to Australia and cast doubt on Joe Root's decision to field first.