England go 'Bazball' in warm-up but Root, Brook miss out

England have gone all-out Bazball in their Ashes warm-up match in Perth, but they could be in for a rude shock when they front up to a far spicier pitch in the first Test.

The tourists have already copped widespread criticism for their decision to play only one warm-up match before the Ashes, and the heat is only set to intensify given the slow and low nature of the Lilac Hill pitch they are playing on.

The England Lions – effectively a second XI England side – were largely untroubled on the way to posting 375 from 79.3 overs on Thursday.

England went in to bat on Friday, and they raced to 0-182 from just 31.2 overs before openers Ben Duckett (92 off 97 balls) and Zak Crawley (82 off 101) fell in quick succession.

Joe Root is yet to score a Test century in Australia, and his bid for big runs on this tour got off to a poor start when he was dismissed for just one, leaving England at 3-185.

Root was caught after mishitting a pull off Durham's Matthew Potts (3-66), while Harry Brook was bowled for two after charging down the track at Nathan Gilchrist.

The pair, ranked one and two in the ICC batting rankings, will be key to England's prospects in the series but saw their hopes of banking some valuable time in the middle disappear during a mini-collapse after lunch.

Ollie Pope scored 100 to ensure he will edge out Jacob Bethell for the No.3 slot in the first Test, while captain Ben Stokes continued his impressive comeback with 77 as England reached 426 from 85.3 overs at a run rate of almost five an over.

Bazball – an aggressive style of batting in Test matches – has been a revolutionary approach to red ball cricket under England coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.

Implementing it on docile pitches like the one at Lilac Hill is one thing, but doing it at Optus Stadium in the first Test, starting on November 21, will be a whole different challenge.

Stokes was England's only bowler to enjoy any sort of success on Thursday, but his 6-50 was deceiving – with most of the wickets falling courtesy of terrible shots on the leg side.

The 34-year-old, making his return from a shoulder injury, looked embarrassed every time he took a wicket, given the shonky nature of the shots.

Not quite the hardened preparation a team would want heading into an Ashes series.

The Optus Stadium deck has built a reputation for being bowler friendly, with a remarkable 17 wickets tumbling on the opening day of last summer's Test against India.

Crawley defended England's preparations when questioned about it after play on Friday.

"Cricket's cricket," Crawley said.

"Just time in the middle (is important). And you know, we're doing everything we can with what we've got.

"We're getting used to the weather, getting used to the flies, so it's good prep. I feel like we'll be ready next week."

Experienced England paceman Mark Wood is in grave doubt for the first Test after experiencing hamstring stiffness following his eighth over on Thursday.

Wood, playing for the first time since injuring his knee in late February, has been sent off for precautionary scans and is no guarantee to bowl again in the three-day warm-up match, which concludes on Saturday.

2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men's Ashes

First Test: November 21-25, Perth Stadium, 1:30pm AEDT

Second Test: December 4-8, The Gabba, Brisbane (D/N), 3pm AEDT

Third Test: December 17-21: Adelaide Oval, 10:30am AEDT

Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10:30am AEDT

Fifth Test: January 4-8: SCG, Sydney, 10:30am AEDT

Australia squad: (First Test only): Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster

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