England will head into this summer’s Ashes with just one proper run-out – a three-day game against their own England Lions at Lilac Hill, Perth, from 13-15 November. Cricket Australia confirmed the fixture on Thursday while releasing the rest of the Lions’ short trip, which will dovetail with the main Test series.
So that is it for Ben Stokes’ side before the first Test at Optus Stadium on 21 November. No hit-outs against state teams, no closed-door trial at the WACA as India arranged last year. Just a single public game on an open park that can’t be fenced off from whoever fancies wandering past with a coffee.
Lilac Hill used to be every touring side’s first stop in the 1990s – 50-over festival affairs, crowds on picnic rugs, that sort of thing – but those days have mostly gone. Now, touring squads tend to fly in late, train hard, and grab what match practice they can. England have opted for the minimal route, something the management reckon mirrors modern series prep. They will still have centre-wicket sessions and nets at the WACA once Western Australia’s Shield fixture against Queensland (11-14 November) clears out.
There is talk of an extra two-day game against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra straight after Perth. That one would be with the pink ball and could double as preparation for the day-night second Test at the Gabba, starting 4 December. Nothing signed off yet, though, and the schedule is tight.
What about the Lions? They have three red-ball matches in total. First, the head-to-head with England. Second, another four-day game at Lilac Hill – this time against a Cricket Australia XI made up of domestic hopefuls – beginning 22 November. Then they shift to Brisbane to meet Australia A at Allan Border Field from 5-8 December, running concurrently with the Gabba Test.
Those shadow fixtures open up useful options for both camps. England can give overs or form-finding knocks to any Test squad member left out of the XI. Australia’s selectors, juggling a Shield round at the same time, can still load their A side with fringe quicks or batters pushing for a later call-up.
Centre-wicket time remains the main currency, though Joe Root admitted last month he would “never turn down a proper first-class warm-up” if it were offered. Senior quick James Anderson echoed that: “We all like overs in the legs, but we’ve shown we can hit the ground running,” he said in June.
How much will the public see? Quite a lot, as it turns out. Lilac Hill is an open ground alongside the Swan River. No gate, no fences to keep anyone out, and Perth’s late-spring weather usually behaves. That should please locals starved of top-level cricket since WA’s Shield games moved to the WACA’s smaller crowd limits.
From an Australian perspective, the overlapping Lions tour has broader value. National selector Tony Dodemaide pointed out last winter that “second-string but high-standard matches” are the fastest way to keep the pathway flowing, though he stopped short of promising any headline names.
One small downside: nothing much in the schedule for England’s white-ball specialists. They will stay home until after Christmas when the ODI and T20 legs of the trip start up. It makes the early part of the tour feel a bit split, yet that is the compromise when calendars are this crowded.
Stokes’ group, meanwhile, will arrive in Perth about ten days before the Lions game, giving them a week of nets and conditioning to shake off jet-lag. Coaches say the bowlers prefer that anyway – controlled workloads rather than 15 a side on an unfamiliar outfield.
Could England regret the lack of competitive cricket if Perth’s surface does something unexpected? Possibly, but Stuart Broad summed up the modern view at Edgbaston last month: “These days the first Test almost is your warm-up, like it or not. You adapt quickly or you fall behind.”
That first Test at Optus Stadium starts on 21 November under lights. After that it is straight to Brisbane and the pink ball. By then everyone will know whether one public warm-up was brave planning or wishful thinking.
