England book rare WACA warm-up to open Australia white-ball tour
England will start their white-ball tour of Australia with a warm-up match, something they have not done on the road for six years.
They will face a Western Australia XI in a 50-over game at the WACA in Perth on 7 November, six days out from the first one-day international at Optus Stadium, BBC Sport reported.
The tour runs from 13 November to 2 December and packs in three ODIs and five T20s. ODIs give each side 50 overs to bat, the longer form of white-ball cricket. T20s allow only 20 overs per side, so batters must attack from the start and every dot ball lifts the pressure.
The warm-up ends a lean run for touring preparation. England went six years without a white-ball practice match on tour. Before last winter's Ashes they managed only an in-house game at Lilac Hill after the ECB said it had been told the WACA was unavailable.
That context makes Perth important. Warm-up games do not count as official internationals. Teams can share the workload, try combinations and give fringe players a chance to press for selection.
Preparation matters right now. England head to Pakistan later this month for a 50-over tri-series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, a three-team round-robin that works as an early rehearsal. After Australia they will still have a minimum of 20 official ODIs before next year's 50-over World Cup in southern Africa.
The Perth fixture is part of a wider reset. England are also due to play warm-ups before Test tours to South Africa and Bangladesh this winter, and before the one-off 150th anniversary Test against Australia in Melbourne in March.
The Australian leg moves fast once it starts. The white-ball trip opens in Perth on 13 November and heads to Adelaide for the second ODI on 15 November, according to Sky Sports.
What makes this stand out is simple. A week in Perth lets batters judge the extra bounce and gives bowlers a real match to find their lengths. For fans, form in that week will tell more than any net session ever can.
