Mitchell Marsh delighted after picking up two key wickets

Marsh celebrates after dismissing England skipper Alastair Cook

Mitchell Marsh was delighted with his performance on Day 3 of the second Ashes Test on Saturday. The all-rounder picked up the key wickets of Alastair Cook and Ben Stokes as Australia moved into a commanding position at Lord’s.

Marsh is on his Ashes debut and came into the side in place of Shane Watson, who had a disappointing outing at Cardiff. The 23-year-old was brought in primarily as a batsman after smashing hundreds against Kent and Essex in the tour matches but showed that he is a more than useful bowler dismissing England’s big-two. The pair looked on course for a century each, but Marsh had other ideas as Stokes played on for 87 before Cook got out in a similar fashion with his score on 96.

"It was really nice to contribute to the team today. The boys bowled really well and were able to put England under pressure," Marsh told the BBC, according to Reuters. "We've talked about being patient and setting the right fields and making England make the mistakes, so hopefully we can do that again in the second innings."

Australia are in a commanding position and looks set to equalise the series after making 108/0 in their second innings at close of play yesterday, giving them a lead of 362 runs. With 10 wickets in hand and two days remaining, Marsh was unsurprisingly bullish about Australia’s chances.

"I'm sure we'll bat for a while tomorrow and then give ourselves enough time to take the final 10 wickets," Marsh said.

Stokes disappointed with England batting

Ben Stokes feels the English batsmen have only themselves to blame for their disappointing response to Australia's mammoth first innings score.

"I wouldn't say there are any demons in the pitch - if anything it's a bit up and down," Stokes told Sky Sports. "We didn't get off to the best of starts yesterday, but Cooky and I tried to carry on our partnership."

The all-rounder feels the home side now have their work cut out if they are to avoid a crushing defeat.

"We're under the pump and Sunday's a big day for us. We've got to get our heads round the fact that we're going to have to bat 150 overs to save this match," he said. “We need to try to make them bat as long as possible, not let them get too far ahead in a short space of time."