Cricket Australia XI v England: Tourists race to comfortable win
England's victory over a Cricket Australia XI arrived only 30 minutes into the final day of four and by the resounding margin of 192 runs at the Adelaide Oval.
Cricket Australia XI v England (Adelaide Oval)
England win by 192 runs
Cricket Australia 2nd inns: 75 (40.2 overs. Short 28; Woakes 4-17, Anderson 3-12, Overton 3-15)
England 2nd inns: 207 (67.4 overs. Bairstow 61*, Stoneman 51; Milenko 5-34, Sandhu 2-47)
Cricket Australia 1st inns: 233-9dec (76 overs. Paine 52, Milenko 50; Crane 3-78, Woakes 2-48)
England 1st inns: 293 (95 overs. Malan 63, Stoneman 61, Root 58; Fallins 5-73, Coleman 3-72)
Day four report
England's victory over a Cricket Australia XI arrived only 30 minutes into the final day of four and by the resounding margin of 192 runs at the Adelaide Oval.
The success in England's penultimate Ashes warm-up fixture, against opponents they will face again in Townsville next week, was powered by two more half-centuries from opener Mark Stoneman and a crucial one from Jonny Bairstow.
Chris Woakes, James Anderson and Craig Overton also went through the gears to share all 10 second-innings wickets as the hosts lurched first to 25 for seven under lights against the pink ball and eventually 75 all out in 40.1 overs.
No one, however, could credibly argue this performance was anything more than broadly efficient from Joe Root's men - and one too that fostered doubt and qualified optimism in equal measure.
England's second-innings collapse of four wickets for three runs to falter to a vulnerable 124 for seven, before Bairstow came to the rescue, and Jake Ball's ankle injury are both areas of obvious concern.
Overton did not seek to hide away from those truths, as he reflected on his individual and England's collective showing - while CA coach Ryan Harris was happy to point out that the tourists' batting is "vulnerable" and lynchpin opener Alastair Cook is looking "rusty".
Overton finished with figures of three for 15 to Anderson's three for 12 as England made predictably short work of the last three wickets after CA resumed on 70 for seven on Saturday, following the example set by Woakes with his four for 17 the previous evening.
The Somerset seamer has been improving by the innings on this tour - which is more than can be said for his batting sadly, after a pair here at number eight.
He said: "Second innings, it didn't quite go to plan under the lights and overcast skies for us (with the bat), but the way we bowled last night showed what you can do with the pink ball.
"Then to come back this morning and finish it off pretty quickly was nice."
Asked if he has put himself in line for a Test debut in Brisbane this month, Overton said: "I'd like to think so, but I've still got a bit of work to do.
"I'm getting there. It's just finding that rhythm."
The absence of Ball until that first Test at least - Lions left-armer George Garton has been called up as cover - has increased Overton's chances for the Gabba, and the workload of the remaining seamers.
He added: "There's always massive pressure on the bowling unit anyway - even if we had everyone fully fit ... so the people who are fit are going to have to step forward."
Ball's absence is a result of his fall in delivery stride on day two here, scans revealing a ligament strain in his right ankle.
Overton reports his fellow seamer may not be out for too long, though.
"He's feeling good," he said.
"From what I heard yesterday, it is sort of a week to 10 days ... we hope it will be a bit quicker, but we're not entirely sure yet."
England's off-spinning all-rounder Moeen Ali is expected to recover as previously indicated from the side strain, which ruled him out of the first two tour fixtures, in time to play in Townsville on Wednesday.
Day three report
Chris Woakes' memorable new-ball burst helped to put England on the verge of a resounding victory by the close of day three against a Cricket Australia XI at the Adelaide Oval.
Before the hosts limped to 70 for seven, England had already overcome their own collapse of four second-innings wickets for three runs.
They hit trouble chiefly against Simon Milenko (five for 34), as the pink ball zipped around under lights and cloud cover in this day-night trial match.
But Mark Stoneman's third successive 50 on his maiden Ashes tour, and Jonny Bairstow's telling 61 not out, carried them to 207 all out and set 268 to win.
That target then quickly disappeared over the darkening horizon for CA as Woakes took over with an opening spell of four for 12.
He struck with his second delivery, bowling Jake Carder on the defence, and soon had CA's other opener Nick Larkin caught-behind and Will Pucovski at gully.
Craig Overton bowled home captain Tim Paine on the defence, then had Jason Sangha caught at second slip, with Ryan Gibson edging Woakes behind.
James Anderson, wicketless with the new ball, soon put that right in his second spell to make it 25 for seven before Matt Short (28no) and Gurinder Sandhu (17no) managed to inflict the minor inconvenience of a Saturday afternoon resumption.
England's chief concern nonetheless remains Alastair Cook's extended wait for a substantial score, as his struggle for 32 in an opening stand of 79 took his tally since mid-August to 108 in seven attempts.
But they had plenty more to think about too, once Milenko and Sandhu got started.
Cook's stay was at times tortured, bringing him a solitary run from his first 22 balls, featuring two close calls for lbw on 16 against first-change Milenko and an edge between wicketkeeper and slip on 30 off leg-spin debutant Daniel Fallins.
England's all-time leading Test runscorer is nothing if not determined, though, and the tourists can only hope his scrambled thirtysomething - before edging a cut behind off Milenko - can prove an improbable launchpad for a prosperous campaign after all.
Stoneman reached his 100-ball half-century just before the end of the first session, only to fall without addition after tea when he chopped a cut back on to his stumps off left-arm seamer Jackson Coleman.
Joe Root might have been run out for a duck, had a throw from cover hit the stumps, but it mattered little because Sandhu soon had him lbw pushing forward for one.
Then came the real clatter for England, with Australia coach Darren Lehmann in attendance as a very interested observer.
Dawid Malan edged Milenko behind and James Vince was suddenly unable to find the line after a previously promising start and fell to a third lbw appeal in the over from Sandhu.
Milenko made very short work of Woakes, caught-behind, and Overton lbw three balls later for a pair in the match as England's collapse extended to seven wickets for 45 runs.
With Jake Ball unavailable, having scans on the ankle he sprained the previous day, England badly needed their eighth-wicket stand of 70 between Bairstow and Mason Crane.
The latter eventually poked Fallins to point, but Anderson took long enough over his duck for Bairstow to reach a 61-ball half-century and pass England's 200 too with a slog-sweep for six off the leg-spinner.
Day two report
Another injury scare left England's resources stretched in their pink-ball trial match after Jake Ball sprained his right ankle as he fell over in his delivery stride against a Cricket Australia XI at the Adelaide Oval.
First-change Ball was bowling round the wicket as he lost his footing, and was unable to resume, in his fourth over - walking gingerly off the pitch for further treatment from physio Craig de Weymarn.
He did not return on day two of four, which ended with the tourists five for none in their second innings after CA declared 60 adrift on 233 for nine thanks to a substantial recovery from 57 for five engineered by Tim Paine (52), Matt Short and then Simon Milenko (50).
There was even a cameo entrance as a sub fielder from England's fielding coach Paul Collingwood, a one-over interlude only but symptomatic of a nascent tour in which some best-laid plans have faltered already.
Steven Finn is dispatched back home because of torn cartilage in his knee; all-rounder Moeen Ali is reportedly on the mend after his side strain, and Ball is the latest concern.
He will have his ankle reassessed overnight following an incident which has come just two days after Finn's departure and the summoning of uncapped Tom Curran as his replacement.
England lost their ninth and 10th wickets for 15 runs here inside the first half-hour, rookie leg-spinner Daniel Fallins completing a five-wicket haul on first-class debut when he had James Anderson lbw.
It completed a sequence of five wickets for the addition of just 22 - which began the previous evening - but meant at least England could set about making their own inroads with the ball.
They did so well initially as Chris Woakes, and Anderson especially, allowed precious few scoring opportunities.
Survival was very much the limit of Nick Larkin and Jake Carder's early ambition, and they managed it for almost 10 overs until the former fell lbw pushing forward to Woakes for just six runs from 32 balls.
Number three Ryan Gibson soon went after a full delivery from Ball and was well-caught by a diving Dawid Malan at third slip.
Then with Ball out of the equation, in the first over after the tea break, Carder pulled Craig Overton tamely to mid-on, and Will Pucovski was bowled off-stump playing no shot to leg-spinner Mason Crane (three for 78).
Jason Sangha became Woakes' second victim, splicing a short ball into the hands of gully, only for the increasingly confident pairing of Paine and Short to impact the contest with a partnership of 86.
Crane bowled too many bad balls, and Paine - a left-field possible to return as Australia's wicketkeeper this winter - took advantage as he hit six boundaries in his 89-ball half-century.
Short fell five runs short of his 50 when he followed a hint of lateral movement and edged Anderson behind to the diving Jonny Bairstow, and England's all-time leading wicket-taker doubled up in the twilight zone with Paine lbw shuffling across his crease.
There was still some power to add for the hosts, number eight Milenko taking out the long handle to wreck Overton's figures by smashing 19 off his comeback over on his way to a 56-ball 50 in another half-century stand with Gurinder Sandhu.
England nonetheless hung on to a feasible advantage, despite their bumps in the road, thanks to two late lbw successes for Crane.
Day one report
England overcame a spot of unexpected bother against a rookie leg-spinner on his first-class debut on an awkward first day at the Adelaide Oval.
This pink-ball trial match against a Cricket Australia XI was billed as an opportunity for Joe Root's team to work out how to handle the Kookaburra in day-night conditions.
But after being put in on a sunny afternoon in the second fixture of their Ashes tour, only half-centuries from the captain and Mark Stoneman gave them a foothold as Daniel Fallins took four for 71, with only Dawid Malan (63) and Chris Woakes around to discover the vagaries of twilight batting on the way to 278 for eight.
Root (58) got his Ashes tour under way after missing out against Western Australia last weekend, while Stoneman (61) followed his 85 in Perth, and Malan also bagged his second half-century on his first trip to Australia as they made up the shortfall from Alastair Cook at the top of the order.
Root is the 7/4 favourite with Sky Bet to get the most runs for England in the Ashes. Stoneman is a 6/1 chance and Malan can be backed at 12/1.
England are 3/1 outsiders to win the Ashes. Australia are odds-on favourites at 4/9 and you can back the series to finish level at 8/1.
After his 15 here, Cook has just 76 runs in his last six innings since August's double-century in the day-night Test at Edgbaston.
His opening partner, by contrast, continues to consolidate the broadly favourable impression made in last summer's series against West Indies – although he, James Vince and Root doubtless had their eyes on bigger scores before getting out to Fallins.
Cook was already gone by then, caught-behind for the fourth time in six attempts, when he became a maiden first-class victim for left-arm seamer Jackson Coleman.
The pink ball appeared curiously hard to time, and a slow outfield with no cut square either side of the drop-in pitch meant boundaries were scarce.
Vince took 10 balls to get off the mark – but as at the WACA, he and the left-handed Stoneman were an effective combination in a stand of 61.
Stoneman ought to have been caught behind too, having battled his way to 17 off 44 balls, but Tim Paine dropped an edged cut after Gurinder Sandhu switched to the Cathedral End for his second spell.
Vince seemed set for his second successive half-century until he missed a slog-sweep and was bowled to give 21-year-old Fallins a maiden first-class wicket with just his fifth delivery at this level.
The home attack, as in Perth, appeared to be under express orders to be as disciplined as possible against Root – who had to earn every run on his way to a 75-ball 50 which contained just three fours.
He and Stoneman put on 71 together, the latter passing his half-century in 102 deliveries before he was very well caught off a Fallins full-toss by a diving Jake Carder at midwicket.
Root also got little further than 50 before holing out off Fallins to deep mid-off.
There were some gimmes in Fallins' final column, as well as some useful wrist-spin in between, and Jonny Bairstow's cut at a leg-break was edged behind soon after dinner.
Malan, with his 101-ball half-century, and Woakes' earnest partnership of 76 put England in decent shape - but after both fell to late edges under lights and Craig Overton also went for a duck as three wickets fell for seven to the second new ball, the tourists had hit more significant trouble.
It added up to an uncomfortable indication as to whether they may be able to adapt well enough to keep Mitchell Starc and the rest of the Australia Test attack at bay on their return here next month.