New Delhi: England pacers produced the goods on the final day of the four-day tour match against Cricket Australia XI at Adelaide Oval on Saturday to set up a 192-run victory in their penultimate Ashes warm-up game. James Anderson (3/12), Chris Woakes (4/17) and Craig Overton (3/15) were brilliant but, their collective effort failed to cover the batting frailties the visitors are facing ahead of the Test series.
The visitors witnessed their batting order crumbling like a pack of cards in the second innings at Adelaide with unheralded Simon Milenko taking five wickets. In their first innings, England managed 293 with half-centuries from Mark Stoneman (61), Joe Root (58) and Dawid Malan (63) even as Daniel Fallins took a five-wicket haul for the hosts.
CA XI responded with 233, then England were bowled out again, for 207. And this time, Milenko took a fifer. The right-arm medium ran through the England batting order, taking five wickets in his 16.4 overs spell.
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England won the match, but that's not typical warm-up the visitors needed in the run-up to the Ashes. Already forced to dig deep in their reserves after a series of injuries, England will need a convincing performance in their final Ashes warm-up game again against the CA XI, starting on Wednesday, before the opening Test in Brisbane on November 23.
Yes, they are without Ben Stokes' star power.
The tourists now head to Townsville in north Queensland for their final Ashes warm-up game again against the CA XI, starting on Wednesday, before the opening Test in Brisbane on November 23.
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