Cricket Update | Second day of England v England Lions

Second day: England Lions 375 | England 426

Ollie Pope struck a composed century as several members of England’s top order enjoyed meaningful time at the crease in their Ashes warm-up.

Author | Peter Jones

Stadium | Lilac Hill

The negative from the day's play was that Joe Root and Harry Brook failed to make an impact in what may prove to be their final outing before the first Test.

Ben Duckett’s 92 and Zak Crawley’s 82 underpinned an opening partnership of 182, while Pope and captain Ben Stokes added 137 for the fifth wicket on the second day of three in Perth.

Between those two commanding stands, England surrendered four wickets for 16 runs, with both Root and Brook falling in tame fashion. Much of the Australian commentary has focused on Root’s wait for a Test century on these shores and his preparations were cut short when he hooked Matthew Potts tamely to mid-wicket for one.

Catch some of his best shots from Day 2 in our warm-up game against The Lions 👇 pic.twitter.com/npAaf6UlLJ

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) November 14, 2025

Mixed fortunes for some of England's stars 

Harry Brook's innings was marked by an approach that bordered on dismissive. In his first 15 balls he twice charged the seamers and attempted a scoop more suited to a T20. On his 16th delivery he advanced again at Nathan Gilchrist, lost his balance and was bowled for two.

Pope made the most of his opportunity, reaching a disciplined hundred that should cement his place for the opening Test against Australia on 21 November. Stokes was similarly measured, working his way to 77 as he eased back into competitive action after almost four months out with a shoulder injury.

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England were eventually dismissed for 426 in reply to the Lions’ 375, a total adjusted by scorers from the 382 initially recorded on day one.

Mark Wood was present at Lilac Hill with heavy strapping on the left hamstring that tightened on the opening day. England are awaiting the results of a scan carried out on Friday afternoon.