
Ashes 2023 is turning out to be an exciting series for all cricket lovers. Australia are currently leading the series 2-0, but this hardly tells the story of how nail-biting and competitive the fixtures have been. When England and Australia faced each other on Day 1 of the third Ashes Test, a very peculiar incident happened that is now catching everyone’s attention. Before the toss, England’s head coach, Brendon McCullum was reportedly stopped by the security staff who failed to recognise him.
As reported by The Times UK, Brendon McCullum was stopped by a security guard and was not permitted to enter the ground at Headingley, Leeds. The report said, “The security guard on duty did not recognise McCullum, who tried to argue while the person accompanying the New Zealander pointed out that it was fairly critical to the England team's chances that he was allowed through.”
The security guard stopped McCullum because he did not have the correct entry pass. This didn’t sit well with the former New Zealand skipper, who was in a hurry for the toss and moved past the guard. It was said that McCullum lost patience and bypassed security when the guard was trying to contact his supervisor and told him, “You'll just have to deal with it.”
If England want to keep their hopes alive of winning the series they will have to win this Test. The Ben Stokes-led side made 2 changes in their line-up. They brought in Mark Wood to replace James Anderson and Moeen Ali in place of an injured Ollie Pope. The changes seem to have worked as Wood took a five-for and helped dismiss Australia for 263 runs in the first innings.
On the other side, Australia brought in Mitchell Marsh, who made a return to the side after a long gap of nearly four years. Marsh had a dream comeback and carried Australia to a respectable score. The all-rounder scored a brilliant hundred. Later, he took the crucial wicket of English opener Zak Crawley.
Despite getting Australia out for 263 on Day 1, England failed to capitalise on the situation, thanks to a six-wicket haul by Pat Cummins. English skipper Ben Stokes once again played a magnificent fighting innings, but could only take the hosts to a score of 237. With Moeen Ali leading the bowling attack with 2 wickets, England would look to finish off Australia’s innings quickly. Australia have a lead of 142 runs, with the star pair of last innings- Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head at the crease.