Injury scares for Australia and England week out from first Ashes test

Take a look at the top performers from Australia's T20I series against India, which they lost 2-1, and why Cricket Australia have got the schedule for the 2025/26 summer wrong.

All the action from round four of the Sheffield Shield as members from the Aussie test squad get one final hit out in before the first Ashes test. See who's in form and which fast bowler sent an injury scare through the Aussie camp.

England have arrived in Australia and their first and only warm up match is underway vs the England Lions. Have selectors dropped a major hint as to the make up of the starting XI for the first Ashes test, and is Mark Wood's tour over before it even began?

Plus take an in-depth look at the England squad and why they aren't as good as perhaps they think they are.

Thank you for listening! Be sure to follow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and/or Instagram.

Transcript

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Hello and welcome to another edition of the Ashes to Ashes podcast where we delve into everything related to the Australian and England cricket teams, both men's and women's, as they gear up for another Ashes campaign, and they're always gearing up for an Ashes campaign. I'm your host, NewsQuest journalist and avid cricket fan, Patrick Glover, and we are just a week out from the Ashes down under, which kicks off next Friday on November 21st. So there is plenty to get through as both squads finalise their preparations for that upcoming series. So on today's episode, we're going to take a look at Australia's T20 series loss to India. We're going to take a look at all the Sheffield Shield action, including Josh Hazelwood's injury scare. And we're also going to take a look at England's Test Squad as they begin their warm-up match versus the England Lions ahead of that first Ash's Test and also a Mark Wood injury scare which has been reported from day one of that match. All that and plenty more on today's episode. But as always, before we kick start things, just a quick reminder to give us a rating and a follow wherever you listen to your podcast, whether it be Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or anywhere else. So we're going to start today's episode by taking a look at Australia's T20 series over India. India ended up winning that series at 2-1, uh, and there was two washouts in that series as well. In the end, India just too good for Australia, and especially after you had guys like Travis Head, Josh Hazelwood, and Sean Abbott all go back to Shield cricket towards the end of that series. India's strength just shone through. Australia obviously taking early lead in that series and going 1-0 up after to game two after a washout in the first game, and then India coming back in in games three and four and winning those two before a washout and the last, as I say, India's class just showing through there in the end and their depth as well. As I mentioned on the episode the other week, it's it's amazing how India can almost have they almost have three different teams for Tests, one dayers and T twenties, but yet all of them are as just as good as each other. Obviously there's a a few players that cross over between between the teams, including the likes of Shubman Gill, but you've got guys like Abishek Sharma in the T twenty setup who who only play T twenties for India and a handful of one dayers as well. But probably a player that's good enough to go and play Test cricket for India, but he's almost in that Indian setup as a specialist T20 player, and they allow him to go and play franchise cricket and hone his skills as a T20 batsman, and that just goes to show when he's currently the number one ranked T20 batsman in the world in the ICC rankings at the moment. And he showed why in this series he he led the way with the bat scoring 163 runs uh across the series and demonstrated why he's he's arguably one of the most exciting talents on the on the T20 scene at the moment. Shootman Gill also carrying on his recent good form from the test arena over into the T20s with 132 runs, so he was the the second leading run scorer for that series, while Varan Chuckaravati had the Aussies in knots, taking five wickets across the series. But on a positive note for Australia, uh Nathan Ellis, he was the leading wicket taker for the series with nine wickets. We've known for some time what a great limited overs bowler he is. He has an amazing change of pace, he can bowl at important stages of games and turn it for his side. But his opportunities for Australia have have been limited because of injuries and and obviously being stuck behind the likes of Stark, Hazelwood, and and Cummins. So that's that's obviously kept him out for a while. But great to see that he's he's getting into the the Aussie side on a regular basis now and getting a good run. And and that's obviously paying off and he's starting to take wickets and lots of them as well. So really good to see him getting a a good crack in the in the Aussie set up there. Timmy David as well, um another mixed series for him. He he was the leading Australian run scorer across the series with 89, which included a 74 in game three, but he's still very hit and miss. He'll have one good innings and then he'll go missing for a couple and then come back and and have another one. But good to see him getting a bit more responsibility in this series, batting up at number four. He usually bats around number six or sort of floats and and comes in towards the back end of an innings to finish things off because he's such an explosive player and that's what he's trained to do. But the Aussies have obviously seen that if he can get away early and he's got plenty of time to bat, he can be quite destructive. And the good thing about the Aussie lineup in the T20 setup at the moment is that they've got such a destructive batting audience. You've got guys like uh Mitch Marsh and Travis Head at the top, Matt Short at three, then you've got the likes of Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoynis as well, who all play a very similar sort of attacking brand of cricket. So if one doesn't come off, you know that one of the others probably will, and and that's usually and that has been the case of late uh across Australia's last sort of couple of limited overs series. Mitch Marsh as well, he continued his good form with 86 runs for the series, and that was why obviously a lot of people were pushing his name forward to be a part of that Australian squad for the the upcoming Ashes series. But my main takeaway from that series, and I'm I'm not sure what it was like over in Australia, but from watching things from afar over here in the UK, it felt like the the one day and the and the T20 series against India was a little bit overshadowed by the upcoming Ashes. It felt like these series needed to be at the back end of the summer, like the White Ball series always used to be in the past. Let the Ashes take all the focus and and kick off what's going to be an amazing summer and then finish things off with the White Ball stuff. It just feels like there's been a a lot of cricket in Australia this summer already. So on top of the India series, you've you've there's already been a series against South Africa up in the top end, there was a a series over in New Zealand as well, and it just feels for me like it's all been just a little bit glossed over. There's there's obviously been all this talk about the badoff and and who's going to be in the Australian squad for the the upcoming Ashes series, there's been focus on Pat Cummins and and how his back injury's going, and and then obviously everyone focusing on on what the English are doing as well. But while all that's been going on, and obviously the Sheffield Shield as well, there's there's been a lot of focus on that with people watching how guys are performing in in that series. But for me, it just feels like all of that has sort of overshadowed these white ball series and and not much attention has been paid to them. But that might just be me sort of watching from afar, but it it that's just what it feels like, and I think Cricket Australia needs to go back to the old format where you started an Australian summer with the test series, and it needs to start at the GABA. None of this starting off in Perth, it needs to be at the GABA. That's where the Australian Test Summer always starts and has always started. I understand obviously the attendance numbers at the GABA have been dwindling over the last couple of summers and and potentially why that's meant the first test hasn't been held there this summer, but then why give them the the day-night test? Again, I know that they're obviously trying to encourage people to go, but Adelaide Oval has done a fantastic job, an amazing job at hosting the day-night tests so far, and and now you've pulled that off of them. And I I know that Adelaide is is one of those places that whatever the test is, whether it's a day-night or just a normal test match, every man and their dog's gonna rock up to the match. Being from Adelaide and having been an Adelaide Oval member myself, I know that it doesn't matter what time of day the cricket's on, everyone's gonna be there. So I understand that and I understand what Cricket Australia are doing, but I just feel like these limited over series need to be at the back end of a summer. Have all the focus, especially a a big series like the Ashes, have all the focus on that to start the summer, and then worry about the white ball stuff after that. So while we're on the topic of Australia and their build-up for the Ashes, we're gonna take a look at round four action from the Sheffield Shield. All Test Squad members were in action with a few eye-catching performances and also a few injury scares. So there were victories to South Australia over Tasmania and Victoria over New South Wales while the match between Queensland and WA is still ongoing. In the Tasmania and South Australia game down in Tassie, we had Jake Weatherald scoring 23 and 30 from his two innings. Not a bad return. Obviously, you would have liked to have scored a few more runs, but it was a very bowler-friendly green top uh down there in Hobart. Surprise, surprise. I'm sure Weatherell probably would have liked to put a few more runs on the board to sort of push his case for uh selection in that first test even further. But 20 and 30 on a on a bowler-friendly deck, not many batsmen really made big scores in that match, so that could be that could help him out a little bit. His Tasmanian teammate and Australian incumbent Bo Webster was on fire with the ball in that match, taking eight for the game, including five for 50 in the first innings and three for 73 in the second. Could only manage scores of 13 and 8 with the bat, however. It's gonna be a tough one between him and Cameron Green, who we'll get to in a minute for that last spot in the Aussie team. Whether they play both of them or just one remains to be seen, but we'll get to that in a minute. Travis Head was also in action in that game. He could only manage scores of nine and fifteen. Alex Carey, probably the standout batter in that match, scoring 59 in the first innings and 23 in the second. Looking good in that first innings there, and he'll take a lot of confidence into the the first test with those knocks. Brendan Doggett has shown that he is more than ready if Australian selectors call on him in this Ashes series. He took five for 66 in the first innings, finishing with six wickets for the match. That is the fourth shield game in a row now that he's taken five for or better. So definitely showing that he deserves his spot in that Australian test squad, and as I say, will be ready if called upon. Over in the Victoria and New South Wales game, Sean Abbott took one for 75 and four for 18 in that game there. But unfortunately for him, he has been ruled out of the first Ashes test due to a hamstring strain. So bad luck there for Sean Abbott. We know that he's been around the Australian setup for a while now. And and this could have been the summer that he sort of pushed into the the test side with obviously Pat Cummins nursing that back injury. But unfortunately for him, he's now out of that first Ashes test. Josh Hazel had had returns of none for 54 and one for 22 in that match. And he also sent a bit of an injury scare through the Aussie camp. He had to leave the field with hamstring tightness during late in that game and had to go off for scans, but he has been cleared and is set to take part in that first test. Nathan Lyon took four for 82 and 2 for 52 for New South Wales in that match. And Steve Smith carried on his good form with 57 and 56 not out. And in ominous signs for England, he looks in really good touch. He's doing his his little intricate sort of almost dance moves out there at the crease, and he just looks like he's in that bubble, which when he's in that bubble, it's really hard to remove him from. So that's some good signs for Aussie supporters and the Aussie cricket team, but bad news for the English of the upcoming summer. Mitchell Stark took four for 91 and one for 48 in his return to Shield cricket, while Scott Boland was also in action for the Vicks, taking two for 27 and one for 24. So some good returns there for the bowlers. And as I say, Steve Smith looking good with the bat. Over in the third Sheffield Shield game between Queensland and WA. That game, as I said before, is still underway. So far, Marnus Labochane has batted twice for Queensland, continuing his good form as well, making 50 in the first innings and then missing out in the second, only scoring 11. Well, Cameron Green made a return to the bowling crease this game. He took one for 13 from eight overs in the first dig and currently has figures of none for 17 from eight overs in the second, which is still ongoing, as I say, at the moment. While he also top scored for WA in their first innings with 94, looking really good with the bat. So some good signs for Cameron Green, as I say, getting good to see him back bowling and look like he was bowling reasonably sharp in that first innings as well, from the clips that I've seen, and and really good to see him making some runs with the bat as well. Josh Inglis, the other Australian squad member in action in that game, only managing four for WA in their first innings. So you just when you think you're getting closer to sort of working out what the Australian 11's gonna be for the first test, something else throws another spatter in the works and it it it sends you further back and uh and you're sort of not sure again. So Josh Hazel would has obviously been sent off for scans for this hamstring strain, and and he's been he's been cleared, so you would assume that he will play in the first test. But does this injury scare mean that selectors should look at playing both all rounders uh as cover just in case he does go down mid-test? Obviously, Bo Webster taking eight wickets uh for Tasmania and Cameron Green back bowling again and and looking like his his old self is is is great signs and and obviously two great bowling options there as backups for your your three main quicks and and Nathan Lyon. So that could be an option, but then that obviously means that Marness has to go up to open and weather or misses out. For me, I think it it's a tough one because I think Marnus needs to bat at three, that's where he's looked most comfortable. He's he's obviously made all his runs for Queensland this summer at three. He was number one test batsman in the world when he was in form for Australia batting at three. So I think he just needs to go back in into that spot. And then I think they also need to have a specialist opener open with Uzi as well. So I think Weatherald needs to get the nod there. I know he probably hasn't scored a mountain of runs in the last two shield matches, but you go back to the form prior to that. He he scored three half centuries already this summer prior to the last two shield games. He made 900 plus runs last shield season and made a big ton for Australia A over the winter over the Aussie winter as well. So he's got the runs behind him there, and I think he's more than ready to go for that first test. But then it obviously comes down to whether you play Webster or Green at six, both are in great form. Webster and Green were both in the last test team for Australia. Obviously, Green playing a slightly different role up at three and and not bowling. Webster's done such a good job at six since he's come in, both with bat and ball. So I'd really hate to be an Aussie selector right now, that's for sure. But the other the other one is if Hazelwood isn't 100% fit, do you do you go just with the one all-rounder and play someone like Brendan Doggett? He's shown that he's more than ready to to play for Australia. So you leave Hazelwood out for the first test, play Stark, Doggett, and Boland, and give Hazelwood an extra sort of week or so to be Cherry Wright for that second test in in Brisbane. Okay, so we we now turn our attention to England. I've spoken a lot about the Australian setup and and the makeup of the Ashes squad over the last couple of weeks, uh, but we haven't really had a good deep dive into the England side, so that's what we're gonna we're gonna do now. There's been a lot of talk in the British press over the last couple of years about the current England side and and how good it is. The team itself almost seems to believe its own press. You just need to look at how they're going about their cricket at the moment, the arrogance, the the bullying in the Test Series against India, and the the comments off the field as well by by current players, including the likes of Zach Crawley. The England Test team was in a bad place about four years ago under Coach Chris Silverwood and Captain Joe Root. Brendan McCullum and Ben Stokes took over in in 2022 and and hats off to them. They have done a really good job in creating a comfortable environment within that test squad where where players are, as I say, comfortable to play their natural game, which is great, and I I love that. And they've turned the fortunes of the team around a little bit. You look at the the 17 games pre-Bas Ball, they the England Test side won one game, whereas the 41 matches so far under Brendan McCullum, they've won 25. So they've obviously flipped that around a little bit. They came away with a draw against Australia in in 2023 when Bas Ball was still in its infancy, or if you ask the English, they they came away with a moral victory. But in saying that they're still yet to beat their biggest two rivals in in India and Australia, and it feels like everything has been building to this Ashes series down under. I feel like they've been building themselves up for this for a long time, almost since Brendan McCullum's taken over, and and it opens them up to a really big fall. What happens if England lose this Ashes series heavily? Then what? All this planning and preparation will have been for nothing. Perhaps then England will realise that maybe they're not as good as they thought they are. So let's break it down and have a look at at this test squad that's set to take on Australia and and some of the strengths and weaknesses, I guess, from from the players. So let's start with the captain Ben Stokes. There's obviously been a lot of talk in the lead up to this Ashes series about his opposite number, Pat Cummins, and how he's under an injury cloud with his back. But Ben Stokes is coming back from his own injury, having been ruled out of the back end of the India series with a shoulder injury. He is has been obviously building over the last couple of months preparing for this Ashes series, but can he get through this entire Ashes series? He's really his own worst enemy, and he's gonna need to learn how to manage his own load. Well, one of his great qualities is that he leaves from the front, he almost does it too much, and I think that's that's also part of the other problem with the England side. If if they're not going well, it takes one or two players to drag them out of it. And and Ben Stokes is is usually that player. He he did it in the in the series against India with the ball when when blokes weren't taking wickets, he needed to to bring himself on and bowl long spells, and and that in the end was at the detriment of the team because it meant that he he couldn't play the last test, which they lost, and then lost the series. So he may be a great manager of players as a captain, but just needs to work on the management of himself because his body's obviously a lot more fragile than it used to be, and he's he's picking up more and more injuries, and he's such an important part to that side. He can't afford to go down mid-ashers series. He's he's gonna be a really important part in this Ashes series, not just with the ball or or with the bat, but with his captaincy skills, it just the way he leads that team. England are gonna need that down in Australia, and the Aussie conditions are gonna test him as well. It's gonna be a lot more warmer down in Australia than than the English are used to over in in the UK, and and the the decks are a lot more abrasive, a lot more tougher, so it's gonna put a lot more strain on your body when you're bowling. So things to think about, and he he he'll obviously know that, and I'm sure the the coaching staff, Brendan McCullum, will be giving him feedback and and you'd hope that he takes that on board and and doesn't run himself into the ground again. Because obviously, from from a spectator's point of view, you want the best players out there, you want it to be a contest between the the two best teams. You don't want blokes missing out. We then move up to the the top of the order and have a look at uh Zach Crawley and and Ollie Pope. There's there's obviously been question marks around both of them. Zach Crawley has the ability to help England get off to an absolute flyer, and and him and Ben Ducket, to be fair, do make a good combination at the top of the order for England, but there has been a little bit of talk about his spot in recent times. He scored a hundred against Zimbabwe at the start of the English summer, but apart from that, hasn't scored a hundred since the last Asher series in in 2023. So there was some there's some question marks around his spot, and then Oli Pope as well. Again, when he is on, he looks amazing, and he scored some big hundreds throughout his career and in important times for England as well. Some of them have come in in foreign conditions when when England have been in real strife. So he's a great batsman, but he just tends to when he's good, he's really good. But when he's bad, it's either one extreme or the other. There's sort of no in-between, and and there's a lot of pressure on him at the moment. He was stripped of the the vice-captaincy role heading into this Ashes series, and and a lot of people have have said that that may preempt what's coming. It may mean that that Jacob Bethel's going to come in and take his spot at number three. We we know that that Bethel's been described as a a generational player and and he's gonna be a key part of that England setup for uh um for years to come. But the English coaches have have come out in the last couple of weeks and have it it seems like that Pope will hold his spot for this first test from from what they're saying. It sounds like they don't want to make too many changes just for the sake of it. I think that that Ollie Pope may hold his spot, and we'll get to the the team setup in a minute because there's been a few hints maybe thrown about with the the warm-up game which which is underway at the moment. I want to take a look at Shoei Bashir next. Now, England's selectors have pretty much plucked him out of obscurity a few years back to to go on a tour of India. He'd barely played any first class cricket, and and even still, even when he did get picked for England and went back to play county cricket, he had to swap counties because he was still the second spinner in line at his county. So for me, there's still some question marks as to whether he's ready to play in Australian conditions. It's gonna be very hostile. Aussie conditions are obviously very foreign. He he's played a he came over and toured with the the England Lions last summer when they had a couple of Aussie A tour games down under, but he hasn't played a lot of cricket over in Australia. The batters are are obviously gonna go after him, and and that's something that he's he's used to. We've seen he has the ability to take wickets for England, but at the same time he also has the ability to get whacked. So it's gonna be interesting to see how he goes in this series and and whether he gets picked at all. If the England's side for the warm-up game against the England Lions is anything to go by, he might not be there come come November 21st in Perth. But we'll get to that in a minute. The other bowlers to have a look at are Joffrey Archer, he has been held as as England's big weapon, almost as their saviour from a bowling perspective. They've been England have been blessed with some some amazing bowlers over the years, recent years anyway. You've you've got the likes of Harms and Hoggard, Flinthoff, and then more recently the likes of Broad and Anderson. And with the the latter retiring recently, there's there's been a massive hole to fill in in that bowling lineup. And and England have had Archer under Cotton Will for a couple of years. Now they've eased him back through white ball cricket in the hope that I think in in the aim that he would be ready for this series. We saw what he could do in the in the 2019 Ashes, and everyone got everyone got very excited that oh he's he's gonna be very scary. And and look, he he's a great bowler, he he's fantastic, and uh and he will be scary in in Aussie conditions, especially with uh the Australian decks the playing the way they have been of late. There's gonna be a little bit in it for the bowlers, so he will be very tough to to face in in those conditions. But he's another one that England are gonna have to manage. There's he's very injury prone. Over the years, he's he's looked like he would be ready for test cricket and then would suffer another injury and then would come back and would suffer another injury. So he's played a couple of tests in the India series at home this summer. They they left him out of the last the last test as a precautionary measure, and he's played a bit of white ball cricket for England now in the lead up to the Ashes, but they'll be looking to him to play a key part in this Ashes series, but again, they're gonna have to manage him through. He's not gonna be able to play. I can't see him playing all five tests, so they're gonna have to manage him. So that's another player. You've got at least two, and Mark Wood's another one they're gonna have to manage as well. So there's three players in that squad. Ben Stokes, obviously, not as much, but Archer and Wood definitely you're gonna have to manage through that series, and and I can't see them playing all five tests, and and there is a very much a reason for Mark Wood, which we'll we'll get to in a second. But I just want to an interesting stat that I saw the other day. There's for all the talk about the the 2019 Ashes and how scary Droff for Archer was, and and to be fair, he he obviously knocked out Steve Smith, and and that that spell that he bowled to him in that game was was very hostile and and it was a great contest. But it's funny, it's you look at the stats and and everyone was like, Oh, he's he's got Steve Smith's number, and and oh Steve Smith would be scared of Joffra. But you actually look at it and and the stats tell a different story. So Joffra Archer in that series bowled 164 balls to Steve Smith, went for 94 runs, but didn't dismiss him once. So just a a nice little fact there for Australian supporters, and and in that series, Steve Smith scored 774 runs at an average of 110 with three centuries, including a high score of 211. I think he was he was quite happy to to face Joffrey and the rest of the the bowlers despite copping a bit of a whack in the noggin. Now, as I mentioned, Mark Wood is another just very fragile. He hasn't played cricket since February, hasn't played Test cricket in over a year, and he's another one they're gonna have to manage through this series. So he's obviously been on a on a recovery path. He he missed the the the British summer and and they've been getting him ready for the Sashes series. But after one day of of sort of semi-competitive cricket in in the warm-up game against the England Lions, he's already had to leave the field and and go off for scans with with hamstring tightness. So it doesn't really bode well for a five-test series where it's gonna be intense in hot, Aussie conditions, again on on hard decks, which is gonna take its toll on a fast bowler's body. Are we gonna see him at all in this Ashes series is is the question. And and then who then does it fall on? You've got the likes of Matt Potts, Josh Tung, who again haven't really played much cricket in Australia, if any. So Gus Atkinson as well, we he's he's obviously a talent, but again, hasn't played a lot of cricket in Australia, so it's gonna be an interesting one from a bowling perspective for England, who they select and and whether it's gonna be enough to take 20 wickets and and to to challenge the the Aussie batsman in home conditions. And could this potentially be the last Test series we see Mark Wood feature in? But I think the the three main threats for Australia this summer and the three key wickets they're gonna need to take will be Duckett, Root, and Brooke. All have been in amazing form of late. Root, we know how good he is, he's The second highest run scorer in Test cricket ever now, behind Such and Tandulka. But he's going to have a point to prove this summer. He's Australia is the only country around the world where he hasn't scored 100, and he'll still go down as one of the best batsmen to ever play the game. But there's still that little asterisk by his name where he hasn't scored a test 100 in Australia. So that'll that'll be weighing on his mind, I think. And and he's going to play a crucial role if England are going to have any hope of winning the Ashes. I think he yaks as that linchpin in that in that batting order with with the aggressive batsmen that they've got in that lineup. You look at pretty much everyone. You duck at Crawley Pope not as much. But if Bethel plays, then Bethel. And then Brooke, Stokes, and Jamie Smith are all very attacking, all very aggressive batsmen. So Joe Root just needs to go about go about things his way and play his natural game. And then the other batters can bat around him. Harry Brooke is the the number two test batsman in the world at the moment in the ICC rankings. And for good reason, he's been making runs for fun of late, and he's now taken on the catamancy role in the White Ball side. So England obviously see him as an important cog in that machine going forward. And and he's gonna play he's gonna play a crucial role for England for for many years to come. So he's definitely one to keep an eye on this summer, and he's one that the Aussi bowlers will be honing in in. But I think the Aussies will have done their homework, and I think there's a few sort of areas where they can target. He's shown a tendency to get out to the short ball and and also at times to spin bowling. So I'm sure Australia, as I say, will have done their homework and we'll be having a look at those areas. So England have begun their first and only warm-up match before the start of the Ashes series in Australia, and it's against the England Lions. A couple of interesting points straight up from that one with a selection of the sides. You look at the main England side consisted of Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brooke, Stokes, Smith, Atkinson, Archer, Wood, and Tongue. So you look at that, no Bashir, no Bethel, and no Cass as well, all who were on the England Lions side. So Bethel Cox, Raheem Ahmed, Matt Potts, Bryden Carson, and Show Bashir all played, uh are all on the Lions side. So could that be a little bit of an indication as to which way they're looking for the first test? Could it be that England are looking to go into that first test with four quicks? Could they potentially go in with three quicks and play an extra batter? You could go in with someone like a Bethel or a Jax as sort of a second spin option alongside Root and then play three quicks and Ben Stokes, or do you play your four quicks and try and obviously limit the bowling load that Stokes has to do? The other interesting thing about that is the amount of overs that Joe Root bowled in that first game. He bowled 14 overs, which was the second most of any bowler behind Atkinson and Stokes, who bowled 16 each. He went for a one for 117 from his 14 overs, so it's quite expensive. But is that an indication that they're looking at maybe not picking Bashir in that first test and going with Root as the main spinner? And then that throws another spanner in the works for them because Root then has to pay more attention on bowling loads and that takes a bit of focus away from his batting. So is that already a little win for Australia there? Who knows? We'll obviously have to wait until next week until the the sides are picked ahead of the first test. But as I mentioned before, Mark Wood obviously left the ground with uh hamstring tightness part way through that that innings and and has been sent off for scans. They're expecting him to return to the field in the next few days and potentially bowl again by the time the warm-up match finishes, but not great signs for Mark Wood, who's only just coming back from a long injury layoff. But in positive signs, Ben Stokes took six wickets, so he finished with six for 52 from 16 overs. While for the England Lions side, Will Jacks top scored with 84 from 85 deliveries, Jordan Cox, Matt Potts, and Thomas Rue also scored half centuries in that innings as well. So already plenty to talk about after just the first day of that warm-up game, and I'm sure there'll be plenty more to come over the coming days. Now, before we wrap things up, the WBBL is underway in Australia as well. As it currently stands, the Melbourne Renegades are on top of the table there with two wins from their two opening matches. They are followed by the Sydney Sixers and Hobart Hurricanes, who have recorded one win from their first two matches as well. Couple of standout performances from the first couple of games. Beth Mooney scored 105 from 73 deliveries for the Perth Scorchers the other day against the Brisbane Heat. While Ash Gardner claimed figures of five for 15 from her four overs for the Sydney Sixers against the Scorchers in their recent game as well. So there'll be plenty more to talk about from the WBBL as that progresses further in the next couple of weeks and months. So that brings us to the end of another edition of the Ashes to Ashes podcast. Once again, thank you very much for tuning in. And as always, be sure to give us a rating and a follow wherever you listen to your podcasts, whether it be on the likes of Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon Music. We'll be back slightly earlier next week so that we can slide in before the first Ashes test kicks off on the Friday. So all very exciting. Next week's episode will feature one last in-depth look at the upcoming Ashes series ahead of the first test, which at that stage will just be hours away. So make sure you tune in and I'll see you then.