Western Australia Chairman’s XI v England
England endured a day of toil on the first day of their Ashes tour as a Western Australia Chairman’s XI made 369-4.
Chris Lynn scored 104 and three other batsmen passed 50 as England’s seam attack was made to suffer at the Waca.
The much-awaited trial of the tall fast bowlers was a disappointment. Finn, Rankin and Tremlett, all vying for the one Test place, struggled to find a consistent length and were regularly cut, pulled and driven. Stokes was equally erratic.
These are early days and the tall pacemen weren’t helped by a slow pitch, but this outing will not make it any easier to determine who will play alongside Anderson, Broad and Bresnan, with Finn the slight favourite.
James Anderson took 1-31 from 16 overs but fellow pacemen Steven Finn, Boyd Rankin and Chris Tremlett took one wicket between them for 245 runs
England have three warm-up matches before the first Test in Brisbane, which starts on 21 November.
The tourists are chasing a fourth consecutive Ashes series win, something they have not achieved in more than a century.
With Anderson, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann certain to play in the first Test, fitness permitting, only one quick bowling spot is up for grabs.
But Rankin and Finn, in particular, came in for heavy punishment against a makeshift outfit on an unusually lifeless Waca pitch.
It was a hard day and a frustrating day. The pitch wasn’t quite what we expected and we were pretty inconsistent. We all showed some good signs at times but we were all a little bit rusty. We struggled with our lengths.
Chris Tremlett
Tremlett and Finn were both wicketless through the day, while Rankin ended with 1-87 from 18 overs, with Chris Lynn leading the way for the home side with 104.
That leaves all three England pacemen still needing to improve to join James Anderson and Stuart Broad in the side for the Gabba, with captain Alastair Cook having confirmed that Anderson and Broad will lead the attack.
Tim Bresnan could yet enter the equation if he overcomes a back problem to be considered for the first Test, which starts on Thursday 21st November.
A disappointed Tremlett admitted: “As a bowling attack we pride ourselves on consistency and if we’re honest the bowlers were a little bit inconsistent today.
“I’d put that down to rustiness, we’ve all not played for a while, but it’s nice to get miles in the legs and hopefully we’ll come back tomorrow and improve on what we’ve done today. It was a hard day and a frustrating day.”
Tremlett is now 9/1 to be England’s leading bowler in the upcoming Ashes series, with Finn 8/1 and Rankin 9/1.
England’s Ashes tour itinerary
31 Oct-2 Nov: v Western Australia Chairman’s XI, Perth
6-9 Nov : v Australia A, Hobart
13-16 Nov: v New South Wales XI, Sydney
21-25 Nov: 1st Test, Brisbane
29-30 Nov: v Chairman’s XI, Alice Springs
5-9 Dec: 2nd Test, Adelaide
13-17 Dec: 3rd Test. Perth
26-30 Dec: 4th Test, Melbourne
3-7 Jan 2014: 5th Test, Sydney
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