Ollie Pope makes ton but Harry Brook shows little appetite for warm-up

In the build-up, much of the focus has fallen on Root, of course, who arrived in the country to a headline in the local paper of “Average Joe”, a cheeky reference to a record which shows he has yet to make a Test hundred on three Ashes tours. He must be backed to come good and he is the batting fulcrum on which England’s challenge rests, but here it was unfortunate that he was dismissed so cheaply — mainly because he might have acted as a restraining influence on Brook, who played an extraordinarily skittish innings, with the first Test a week away.

In the minimal senior cricket he has played in Australia, Brook has a poor record. He averaged six in seven innings for the Hobart Hurricanes in the 2021-22 Big Bash, and did little better in three T20 internationals that same year. All told, in nine T20 internationals in the country, his top score is 20. It is, as the statisticians like to say, a small sample size, and a handful of T20 matches have no relevance to the Ashes, but one would have thought he would have wanted to acquaint himself more closely with conditions given how scarce the opportunities are.

He didn’t see it that way. He faced 12 balls and might have been dismissed three times: once when he charged and missed; once when he attempted a reverse-scoop, only to connect with the toe-end of the bat, nearly offering a return catch as he fell to the ground, and then when he ran down the pitch at Nathan Gilchrist, showing his stumps as he did so, and inside-edging on to them. His attitude to this warm-up match seemed clear enough.

At least others looked more intent on making the chance count. At the start of the day, Duckett and Crawley added 174 at almost a run a ball. Pope looked in the surest touch of all, and, later, Stokes played responsibly in contrast to his vice-captain. In the context of the Test match, Shoaib Bashir held principal interest with the ball for the Lions team but he looked a peripheral figure, bowling a dozen expensive overs, although he did take the wicket of Pope, who was bowled sweeping immediately after raising his 100.

Crawley and Duckett looked happy to be in each other’s company again after a while apart, and their partnership was entirely typical, as they put the bowlers on the back foot from the off. Runs came quickly, with Duckett setting the pace. They rattled off 50 in ten overs and the 100 came up in 17 overs. Eventually, as if to make the point that they like spending so much time together, Crawley got out an over after Duckett in the same fashion, playing expansively outside the off stump and edging to the wicketkeeper.

Given the uncertainty over Australia’s opening pair, with Usman Khawaja struggling of late and no clear indication yet of who will partner him in the opening Test, England may feel they have a comparative advantage at the top of the order, Duckett and Crawley having combined effectively since coming together three years ago. Both will be tested in different ways, Crawley especially if there is lateral movement, and Duckett if there is steep bounce.

The groundsman at the Optus stadium was in full flow in the local media promising a firm and bouncy pitch — it has the same black soil that the Waca had back in the day — and Duckett, who does not like to leave the ball, flirted dangerously early on outside the off stump on some occasions. Australia will be sure to pack the arc between wicketkeeper and gully with good catchers such as Cameron Green, and Duckett will have to be pin-sharp in his decision-making in this area.

For his part, Crawley has good memories of Perth, a city that has a significant role in shaping his career. He used the services of a specialist batting coach called Noddy Holder here in winters gone by, played grade cricket here as a youngster and for the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League. Given how little cricket he has played of late — Crawley’s last knock before this was on September 6 — this was important time in the middle for him.

The best batting of the day came from Pope. For the past week, all the hints coming out of the camp have been that he will retain his place at No3 and, with Jacob Bethell missing out on the first day here, that increasing certainty around his position may partly explain why he appeared so calm at the start of his innings. He can sometimes be frenetic, and jabby at the ball, but there was a lovely flow about his game here.

Pope endured a miserable tour to Australia four years ago, dropped mid-series and averaging 11 in three matches. Recalled for the last game in Hobart, he was bowled behind his legs in the second innings, a dismissal which summed up the confused state into which his game had descended. There were early signs here that he can look forward to a happier tour this time.

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