England superstar Mark Wood cleared of injury, set to face Australia
The lack of intensity in the game and the Lions batsmen’s limping dismissal to Stokes were not the only takeaways from the footage released by the ECB of their captain’s six-wicket haul.
The lack of excitement on the field was also evident from the way Stokes arched his back to get the bounce, which was only barely above the batsmen’s waist height.
Zak Crawley, one of England’s top three first-innings scorers, was less than convincing in his comments on the suitability of the Lilac Hill circuit for touring players.
Crawley said of England’s preparations: “Cricket is cricket – it’s right there. We’re doing everything we can with what we’ve got – we think we’ll be ready next week.”
“I think we’re getting used to the weather, the flies. It’s good preparation. I feel like we’ll be ready for next week.”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has expressed doubts about the visitors opting to play a de facto home match as their only warm-up game. Most of Perth’s starting XI has not played a first-class match since the beginning of September.
“We’ve all seen these games before; the intensity drops,” Vaughan told this imprint before the game this week.
“A day and a half can be tough [of day two]But you enter the third day and there is no point in playing.
“Is the preparation the right preparation? When you have all these players who have not only played here but haven’t played cricket in months, they make the adage that they will be mentally fresh.”
Wood will remain available for the first Test after being cleared from injury, but is likely to enter the series underwhelmed with just eight overs against the Lions. He has not played a competitive match for nine months due to a knee injury.
“Following precautionary scans on Friday, England fast bowler Mark Wood has been cleared of any concerns regarding his left hamstring,” the England and Wales Cricket Board said in a statement released on Saturday.
“Wood will continue training as planned ahead of the first Test in Perth.”
Former England seamer Anderson, who was part of the successful season in 2010-11 as well as the whitewashes against Australia in 2006-07 and 2013-14 and heavy losses in 2017-18 and 2021-22, is tipping Australia to win the series. But his prediction did not come true without adverse effects.
“Australia have been so strong and consistent in their team selection over the last 10 years that this was probably their weakest team. [in the last 15 years]Anderson told TNT Sports:
“There are doubts about who will be in the top three, the absence of Pat Cummins is huge. There are certainly question marks there and cracks that England could potentially expose. “There’s a big chance England can come out on top early.
“But I don’t think England are much of favourites – I’d say Australia are still favourites. “They still have a lot of quality in their batting line-up, they still have a lot of quality in their bowlers even though Cummins is missing.
“It’s a tough place to call, so I’d say Australia.”
from AAP
