EEngland may be accused of not taking their Ashes preparations seriously, but with just three days against the Lions to tighten their players’ lead, they have vowed to approach the solitary game of their limited warm-up with as much intensity as they can muster.
Assistant coach Marcus Trescothick said the focus would be on making the game “as competitive as possible” as they prepare to effectively unveil their first-choice Ashes XI.
Although every member of the Ashes squad will be involved in the match, with some playing for the Lions against their own teammates, England are expected to be at full strength. Each player trained in an intense session on Tuesday – Ben Stokes did one session in the nets against spin, one against seam and another against bowling – with no fitness issues reported.
This means that while the debate over England’s preparation will continue, that over the identity of first-choice number 3 could soon be settled, with Trescothick strongly hinting that Ollie Pope has rejected Jacob Bethell’s challenge to retain his place, where he has batted 32 of England’s 35 innings since the start of 2024.
Trescothick said he “assumed” England would pick “the same No. 3 we’ve had for a while”, adding: “We haven’t really changed much. It certainly won’t change dramatically before the start of an Ashes series.” He said uncertainty is something “no one enjoys.”
On the continuity of the team’s selection, Trescothick said: “We’ll know in time how it’s going to turn out. We don’t know at this stage whether it’s going to make a difference or not. If you plan ahead, if you were to improve a few things, one of them would be the consistency of the team you’re going to be working with. It feels a little bit happier when everyone pretty much knows where [they’re] is going to be.
“Something that Brendon [McCullum] and Ben have both wanted and defended team selection consistency. When people call for change, they are clinging to the process of what we believe is right. If we continue to do that, it will certainly help us.”
Asked whether this was in fact a confirmation that Pope would be in the team when the Ashes start next Friday at Optus Stadium in Perth, Trescothick said: “All I can say is that we are a very consistent team in what we try to do. That will be the structure of what our batting line-up will be.”
England’s approach is in stark contrast to the approach when they played the Lions before the 2021/22 Ashes. On that occasion there were two matches scheduled but both were significantly affected by rain. When the action finally started, both sides, 13 players named, were bowled 78 overs by eight bowlers, and while four wickets were taken, nine players batted, with three of them withdrawing and not going out to give others a chance to spend some time in the middle. Bad weather won’t be a problem this week, with Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology giving a 0% chance of rain on two of the three days and just a 5% chance of rain on the evening of the other.
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“It’s an opportunity in the middle with a bat or ball in hand, a chance to prepare yourself the right way,” Trescothick said. “It’s time you get used to the conditions. Once you go into a pre-season match, you want batters to get runs and bowlers to get wickets. Obviously that won’t be possible because if bowlers get wickets, batters might not get runs. That’s the way pre-season games are. The players get a feel for the middle, mentally they get more in tune, and then you’re ready for next week.”
One person whose position is not under threat is Joe Root, who goes into the series as the world’s No. 1 Test batsman after scoring centuries in three of his last five innings, all during the home series against India this summer. But his record in Australia is under scrutiny: none of his 42 scores of 90 or more have come in this country, where he averages 35.68, well below his career mark of 51.29, and it is the only place he has gone more than three times without scoring a century.
“The way he’s been going the last few years will probably explain that he would be very comfortable with what he’s trying to do right now and how he’s playing his game,” Trescothick said. “We have seen Joe grow tremendously under Brendon and Ben over the past three seasons. [with] the playing style we’ve had. His game has been taken to the next level, hence the reason why his ranking is what it is. You would be very surprised if he doesn’t continue in the same way.”
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