With the Ashes opener a fortnight away, almost every member of Australia’s squad – Usman Khawaja is the lone exception – will turn out in this week’s Sheffield Shield round at Sydney, Perth and Hobart. England, by contrast, are holding a three-day intra-squad hit-out at Perth’s Lilac Hill, a picturesque ground but one that has never staged a men’s international.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan queried the tourists’ schedule, noting the vast difference between Lilac Hill and the fast, open expanses of nearby Optus Stadium, where the first Test begins on 21 November. Australia’s players have avoided adding fuel to that particular fire.
“England can prepare however they want to prepare,” Nathan Lyon said. “I am not worried about how they’re preparing or anything to do with them until the morning of November 21.”
Travel diaries partly explain England’s choice. Meaningful tour matches have almost vanished from crowded calendars; Australia themselves played none before the 2023 World Test Championship final in London and still won that match and the first two Ashes Tests that followed. Even so, timing matters. England come straight from a white-ball series against New Zealand and have not played red-ball cricket since early August.
Australia’s core, meanwhile, is already in long-form rhythm. Steven Smith has peeled off a century, Marnus Labuschagne two, and Lyon is about to start his fourth Shield match of the campaign. Scott Boland has two games in his legs, while Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and reserve quick Sean Abbott join New South Wales against Victoria at the SCG.
South Australia v Tasmania pits Travis Head and Alex Carey against a Tigers side featuring Jake Weatherald and Beau Webster. Over in Perth the focus will be on Cameron Green’s return to bowling – his workload will be watched closely by selectors keen to balance pace, batting depth and Green’s own fitness.
Abbott, still eyeing a Test debut, admits tinkering with white-ball skills can upset a bowler’s natural groove.
“A lot of the skills are transferable between formats,” Abbott said on Sunday. “But Josh Hazelwood has mentioned it a few times – your action gets into a little bit of a different position trying to hit yorkers constantly through white-ball cricket.
“Then when you come back to red-ball cricket, you want to be a little bit up-and-over and get the kiss off the wicket and giving the ball every chance to move.
“You can’t really match game intensity as much as we try to in the nets. It’s just something about being out there in the middle and the thick of the contest. So, pretty lucky – home conditions, home summer.”
And if an opportunity arises?
“I feel like I could get the tap on the shoulder,” Abbott said. “It felt that way potentially in the West Indies a little bit and games before that. I’ve not been getting a heap of game time recently, but being around th—” He broke off, grinning, the sentence unfinished yet the intention clear: stay ready, keep bowling, and hope the phone rings.
