Ben Stokes and Rory Burns were the hitters’ pick when England wrapped up their last warm-up game against the England Lions before the Ashes; Joe Root’s team has seen their preparations hit by rain with only two full days of play possible in two set-up games.
Ben Stokes did not retire after making 42 of 56 England balls against the England Lions
Ben Stokes backed up both of his fields Thursday by scoring 42 runs of 56 balls in England’s final prep game before the Ashes against the England Lions in Brisbane.
The Lions went 226-4 at Wellington Point in Queensland, with England responding on the final day of Friday with the contribution of Stokes and 37 more from starter Rory Burns, both left-handers did not fold.
Chris Woakes took an early wicket for the Lions when Haseeb Hameed fell by seven, while Dawid Malan and Joe Root also departed for single-figure scores of eight and nine respectively.
Jonny Bairstow was fired on the first ball and Jos Buttler on the second before the game became more akin to middle practice at the end, with several players hitting twice and some swapping sides.
That allowed James Anderson a chance to pitch again and he proceeded to hit twice on two balls, while Mark Wood also claimed a wicket.
England and Australia’s preparations for the five-round series, which begins in Gabba on December 8, have been affected by rain.
England’s three-day practice game last week was eliminated except for 29 overs and the first two days of the second warm-up against the Lions were also canceled without a ball being thrown.
