Australia in-fighting dominates news agenda as Perth contest looms on Friday

Tristan Lavalette

Published: Nov 11, 2026, 10:27 AM (8 hrs ago)

With bloodletting engulfing Australian cricket as the sandpaper scandal explodes back to life, England have been in the unusual position of starting a tour Down Under with very little attention on them.

It's been a welcome change for them, with England able to focus on adjusting to the vastly different conditions in Australia compared to Pakistan, where they won just one of four games in the recent tri-series against Sri Lanka and the hosts.

After playing on very flat Pakistan surfaces, where dew became a factor later in games, England's white-ball tour of Australia starts at the fast and bouncy Optus Stadium for the ODI series-opener on Friday.

Having already spent over a week in Perth, England have prepared well and enjoyed a 92-run win over Western Australia in a one-day warm-up on a pacy WACA surface that should foreshadow what's ahead at Optus.

England's batting-order, however, did struggle to handle hostile bowling from WA's pace arsenal, led (prior to a recent mishap) by returning quick Lance Morris and emerging youngster Mahli Beardman, with several falling to horizontal bat shots.

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Only four ODIs have been played at Optus Stadium since the ground opened in 2018, with fast bowling overwhelmingly dominating. Teams batting first have only averaged 171.75 runs.

England are hoping these experiences will bode well for next year's World Cup in southern Africa, where they will play in a wide variety of conditions with first-round games in three different countries.

"We're a team that wants to be more adaptable. If we are going to challenge that World Cup, we're going to have to be able to adapt our games," England veteran Joe Root told reporters in Perth on Wednesday.

"We're quite young and inexperienced in many ways. So the more experiences we have on different surfaces, different situations in games... the more we'll learn, develop and become a more rounded team.

"We've come from Pakistan. We've learned a huge amount there. Over the course of this series, we're going to have to be really clear on how we want to get the best out of these three games. So that's the challenge for us."

While England boast a strong squad, in contrast to a weakened Australia, opportunities may arise for emerging quicks Sonny Baker and Henry Crocombe in more favourable conditions for them compared to Pakistan.

Swing bowler Baker has had a whirlwind period after making his Test debut in June against New Zealand at the Oval, while Crocombe launched his international career by playing two matches in the Pakistan tri-series.

"They're very exciting. They've got huge amounts of energy, huge amounts of talent," Root said. "They've done very well domestically, and they've got great skill sets.

"I'm sure they'll be desperate to try and utilise the surfaces after coming from Pakistan, where you might not have the bounce.

"They've been great in this lead-up phase, and I'm sure if they get that opportunity, they'll put the best foot forward."

The series-opener will have extra significance for Root, who will become just the third England player to reach 200 ODI games. Underlining the scarcity of one-dayers these days - the format's future is set to be discussed at the upcoming ICC meetings in Bali - few other England players may end up reaching that landmark. Legspinner Adil Rashid, who was on the outer in Pakistan, is the only current England player within touching distance at 165 games.

"I played my 100th ODI in Sydney and to be back here for my 200th game is obviously a huge privilege," Root said. "As a kid in the back garden or on the driveway, playing little Test matches and international games against my brother and my friends with a table, twigs in the ground... to play as many games I have is a real privilege.

"I'm very proud of that and hopefully we can continue our development as a team over the next little while ahead of what's a very exciting World Cup not far down the line."

The ODI format has changed notably since Root debuted in India in early 2013. The 50-over game these days is marked by explosiveness, with many batters able to easily clear boundaries due to long levers. But Root has still been able to flourish with his ability to accumulate and cleverly manipulate the field. He is well clear as England's most prolific ODI run-scorer with 8010 at an average of 50.37 and striking at 87.81.

"As a player, you've just got to keep evolving with it and you've got to keep finding ways of understanding the rhythm of the game," Root said.

"I've played alongside a number of different players in a number of different teams. Some very successful, some at the other end of the scale as well. And through that you gain a huge amount of experience and understand the different things that are required in different moments.

"I do feel like that will obviously always help me now for the rest of my career in terms of having that in the bank."

Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth