OK that’s a bit of a sidestep from three one-dayers in the land of the long white cloud, but no matter what England are trying to do in preparing for the Ashes, winning is always going to be more useful than getting beaten while not getting time at the crease.
The bowlers had limited time on their feet and weren’t particularly successful. Ten overs per bowler would equate to about halfway through the first day of a Test. The workloads aren’t piling up to five-day cricket resilience, but the contemporary methods of wrapping bowlers in cotton wool, resting at the first signs of fatigue or soreness and allowing for training sessions to harden bodies rather than trust fitness built in the match crucible is not limited to just England. The medical team must be in a continuous state of breath-holding when Archer and Wood turn at the top of their run.
Jofra Archer arriving with the England team in Perth.Credit: Getty Images
So, workloads low, skills blunt, winning feeling zilch leaving NZ. The next phase of operation “Regain the Ashes” is a three-day centre wicket excursion to Lilac Hill, delightful home of the Midland-Guildford Cricket Club and venue for the former tour opening match versus an Invitational XI of local WA players, a few invited Test hopefuls and an ex-legend like Dennis Lillee.
But this time the England Second XI Lions are the opposition. I’m not sure what format McCullum and captain Ben Stokes will prefer but I can guarantee the level of competition will be modest. If Ben Duckett nicks off first ball will they let him stay at the crease or chunter off for a net session? Will they make players retire after a 50 or let them play long Test match-style innings? Will Bazball be proscribed if too many balls disappear into the Swan River?
It is so hard to chisel genuine competitive instinct into these style of matches, and to add to the algorithm, the pitch at Caversham plays a lot lower and slower than the Harvey River Clay at Optus Stadium, venue of the first Test.
Perth has been through a cooler, wetter than normal start to spring so that may mirror some temperate Kiwi weather, whereas normally the tourists could be met with a dusty, eyeball-searing easterly dragging some 40 plus degrees of hot air across the WACA. The third week of the month is forecast to be quite moderate.
The medical team must be in a continuous state of breath-holding when Archer and Wood turn at the top of their run.
Most of that is the downside stuff. The upside is that in many previous tours going back over 40 years England have played pre-Test tour matches against the states and strong invitational XIs and they still haven’t been able to claim the urn. The summer of 1986/7 was the exception that proves the rule after a calamitous run of underwhelming performances in those early outings.
The broad cry from home and visiting pundits has been critical of England’s lack of rigorous preparation, but maybe there is method in the madness. In this era of 50- and 20-over cricket dominating screens and playing schedules, try to use those plentiful body- and mind-friendly games for a softer advantage. I can see a silhouette of logic when applying white ball prep to the batting.
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England may feel they are best when attacking with the bat at all costs, and they have some seriously good limited-overs batsmen, but the corollary is much more difficult to flip to the bowling – where explosive pace still requires a platform of resilience and repeatability if it is to dominate long enough to win a series over five Tests on hard, unforgiving surfaces.
Have England put most of their winning eggs in the first Test basket? Their preparation looks focused on the short term. If they can best Australia in Perth the equation changes dramatically in their favour. The proof of this preparation pudding is about to be tasted, the cricket produced promises to be fascinating.
