Another day, another injured bowler for England on their Ashes tour. To Steven Finn’s knee, Toby Roland-Jones’s back, Mark Wood’s heel and Ben Stokes’ ban (and hand), add Jake Ball’s sprained ankle.
The extent of the injury, which came about when he clattered to the floor in his delivery stride shortly before lunch, is not yet clear, but while he was able to leave the field on his feet, he had to leave the ground on crutches. England will decide whether he needs a scan on Friday morning.
Paul Collingwood, the 41-year-old fielding coach, provided a neat visual metaphor for England’s hobbling squad (13 fully fit at last count), by donning the whites and fielding at mid-on for an over from Mason Crane, whose kit he had pilfered and who Chris Woakes joked is plenty young enough to be Collingwood’s son.
Collingwood found plenty of action, chasing a ball to the boundary, shying at the stumps and pulling off a diving stop. It is worth wondering how many injuries it would require for him to get a game but he insists he has not brought his full kitbag.
As Cricket Australia XI fought back when the pink ball dulled, Ball’s absence even meant James Vince bowled two ugly overs but that is a move that would not feature in plan Z for the Gabba Test, which is less than two weeks away. If Ball’s injury proves serious, England would again have to call for reinforcements. Liam Plunkett and Tom Helm – who is not bowling at full tilt owing to a hamstring problem – would head the queue, having been discussed when Finn went down. Tom Curran at least lands in Australia on Friday morning to replace him.
In the circumstances, England’s day was broadly encouraging. Their last two wickets were unsurprisingly swiftly swept away, meaning they had lost their last five for 22 to the new ball to be bowled out for 293. The 21-year-old leg-spinner Daniel Fallins completed a debut five-wicket haul. Mitchell Starc has been cleaning tails up for fun – to the extent he has been nicknamed “the Mop” – and Stokes’s absence makes England’s batting considerably shallower. The elongated tail must be hardened for a peppering.
The CA XI were two down when England’s five-man attack became four. Ball’s ankle turned under him when delivering the fifth ball (from round the wicket) of his fourth over, which Joe Root finished. Ball, who bowled so well in Perth on Sunday and appeared to have moved ahead of Craig Overton in the pecking order, had taken one of the wickets. Dawid Malan took a sharp catch at slip to dismiss Ryan Gibson.
Having struggled in Perth, Woakes took the other. He and Jimmy Anderson found movement with the new ball and Woakes, who said he would like to play the final warmup at Townsville, bowled with improve pace and bounce. Nick Larkin, who found Anderson a menace, was plumb in front to Woakes, who later got one to rear at Jason Sangha to leave CA XI 57 for five.
Woakes had never bowled competitively with a pink ball before and the early signs were encouraging. Overton was better than in Perth and had Jake Carder out pulling (just like he did in Perth) immediately after lunch. He conceded 11 runs in his first 13 overs until Simon Milenko clattered 19 from an over as England’s attack was stretched.
Tim Paine, the captain, led the fightback with Matt Short, while Milenko clobbered his seventh first-class half-century late in the innings. Paine, who made a tidy 52, and Short fell in the same Anderson spell having put on 86, the highest stand of the match. Jonny Bairstow, who ended the day doing laps of the outfield, took a fine catching diving low to his right to dismiss Short, while Paine was lbw to a nip-backer not long after.
Milenko put on 54 with Gurinder Sandhu until both fell in a Crane over shortly before the declaration. Crane bowled superbly in patches, with poor balls thrown in (he is, let’s not forget, a 20-year-old leg-spinner), and produced perhaps the moment of the day as Will Pucovski, a promising Victorian batsmen, horribly misjudged a stock leg-break, which turned and cannoned into his off stump as he shouldered arms.
Paine’s cheeky, canny declaration – 60 behind, nine down and with five overs remaining – offered England the most testing cricket they are likely to receive before Brisbane. With Starc waiting, the bowling was unrecognisable and the atmosphere nonexistent but there was palpable relief Mark Stoneman and, particularly, Alastair Cook made it through unscathed, having uneasily grown the lead by five. Cook has a golden chance to get his tour moving and how England would love that.
