England will play their only warm-up match ahead of the first Ashes Test this week, and while these kinds of matches have the optics of a participation prize friendly – this one might actually matter.
Lilac Hill in Perth will host the first scheduled stop of the tour this week, while both squads have already joined up for training. Having copped some flak for not prioritising "proper" acclimatisation matches against state sides or Cricket Australia XIs, Ben Stokes rebutted that the game would lack intensity. "Next few days is balls to the wall for everyone," he said. "No easing into it and it will be a good run for everyone... It will be proper and taken very seriously for the next few days."
Beneath that party line, there may well be scope for this match to make some impact before England make the 30km transfer to the Optus Stadium. "We've got nine days until the first Test and a lot of things can happen," said Stokes. The only clues we may get as to exactly what might happen will emerge over the three-day contest in the Perth suburbs.
The No.3 conundrum: Pope v Bethell, the final countdown
Firstly, among one of the most settled England XIs to arrive in Australia for a decade, the Pope v Bethell debate sticks out. Stokes clarified that every member of the senior Ashes squad will feature in the warm-up, so both Pope and Bethell will get a final opportunity to do their talking in the middle. For Bethell, it's a chance to win back some status points lost in the New Zealand ODIs. Bethell had the stage to himself for that ODI series, with Pope having lost the vice-captaincy and seemingly slipping down the pecking order, to make an irrefutable claim that his genius demanded backing on the biggest platform. However, he fluffed his lines, and those questions about facing high class pace bowling remain.
Now, it's Pope's turn. Outshining Bethell against the seam bowlers England have picked to go head-to-head with Australia's stalwarts could shift the dial from wherever it currently sits in his direction for at least the first Test. Or, he could open the door to his understudy.
Fast and furious wins the pace race?
The other selection decision still not crystal clear is which of their pace cards England will want in their hand for the series opener. Having Mark Wood fit and firing at the same time as Jofra Archer offers the tantalising prospect of both of them breathing fire down at Australia's batters at the same time. However, that could be an overplay if both are to stay fit for the full series.
It's hard to imagine any of the pace pack playing all five Tests, so having all of them operating at peak levels for this game will bode well for the series. Wood, Brydon Carse, and Gus Atkinson have all had injury lay-offs over the last few months, while the bowling pack have been on an extended pre-series programme to ensure they're well acclimatised. The painstaking planning to get them all on the park at once will pay off if they're all available for selection for the first Test.
Last chance for pre-series bolters: What's in it for the Lions?
We don't yet know who from the Lions squad will be involved in this game, only that it will be XI v XI and that all members of the Ashes squad will play. The maths says that leaves six spots open for Lions players to make up out of a squad of 18. You'd expect a couple of openers, potentially James Rew with the gloves and maybe an outing for Rehan Ahmed from the top tier of the crowd. While the door is pretty much closed for the first Test, Ashes tours of the past have often ended with players being drawn from the Lions as the series extends into its gruelling second half. With fragile fast bowlers and thin spin ranks in the senior squad, a strong showing here could bring a bolter into play later in the series.
'Balls to the wall' to banish preparation critique
Whichever way Ben Stokes tries to swing it, three days of match practice a week out from the most consequential tour of his captaincy career comes up thin. It's in part a reflection of the caliber of sides home boards have trotted out for travelling teams in the past, and in part another knock-on effect of scheduling woes. Equally, England had a greater volume of run outs before the 2013/14 series, and the 2017/18 series, and fared just as badly as they did in 2021/22, when they had the same prep they'll have this time. However, it is another stick to beat them with should this series go the same way. Here, if England walk their captain's talk, and hit the ground running in Perth, they can to some extent deflect that criticism. That will be something we'll only know once the series proper gets underway, but make no mistake, it starts tomorrow.
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