Anderson fires, young guns hold own in Perth

England's bowling attack have copped a pre-Ashes wake-up call after struggling to fire against a youthful WA XI outfit in the two-day tour match at the WACA Ground.

England posted a respectable 6(dec)-349 with the bat on Saturday.

But they faced the embarrassing prospect of losing the first-innings honours after the third-string WA side cruised to 4-242.

WA opener Josh Philippe (88 off 92) and Clint Hinchliffe (75) feasted on England's attack.

But the WA XI, which consisted of just two players with Sheffield Shield experience, were eventually bowled out for 338.

Given the warm-up match didn't have first-class status, England allowed WA to continue batting even once they lost all 10 wickets, with Will Bosisto getting a second bat.

WA XI finished at 10-342.

England paceman James Anderson (4-27 off 13 overs) was the standout bowler of the day.

But worryingly for England, Stuart Broad (1-64 off 13 overs) was largely ineffective, while Chris Woakes (0-53) also struggled.

"You could probably see from the first session that we were pretty rusty as bowlers," Anderson said.

"We didn't get it right. The point (of this warm-up match) is to try to get into the tour.

"We've got two first-class games coming up that we want to be fit for and get the cobwebs out."

Philippe cracked 16 boundaries to set the tone as WA raced to 1-125.

And Hinchcliffe joined in on the fun later in the innings as England's bowling attack fatigued on a day where the mercury hit 31.4 degrees in Perth.

"Jimmy Anderson wasn't too impressed early doors," Philippe joked when asked what England thought about his sparkling innings.

"I just sort of laughed it off, because it was great to be there. It was a great experience."

It was a far better story for England on Saturday, with Mark Stoneman (85), James Vince (82), Dawid Malan (retired on 56), and Gary Ballance (retired on 51) producing good knocks.

Opener Alastair Cook was out for a second-ball duck, while captain Joe Root made just nine.

But England were happy with the day given a host of their fringe batsmen made some confidence-boosting runs.

England will now travel to Adelaide to take on a Cricket Australia XI in a four-day, pink-ball clash, starting on Wednesday.

England: Joe Root (capt), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Mason Crane, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Chris Woakes.

WA XI: Nathan Coulter-Nile (capt), Will Bosisto, Jake Carder, Tim David, Aaron Hardie, Clint Hinchliffe, Nick Hobson, Calum How, Lance Morris, Josh Philippe, Mark Turner, Kyle Gardiner (12th man).

2017-18 International Fixtures:

Magellan Ashes Series

First Test Gabba, November 23-27. Buy tickets

Second Test Adelaide Oval, December 2-6 (Day-Night). Buy tickets

Third Test WACA Ground, December 14-18. Buy tickets

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Fifth Test SCG, January 4-8 (Pink Test). Buy tickets

Gillette ODI Series v England

First ODI MCG, January 14. Buy tickets

Second ODI Gabba, January 19. Buy tickets

Third ODI SCG, January 21. Buy tickets

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Fifth ODI Perth TBC, January 28. Join the ACF

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Fourth T20I – NZ v England, Wellington, February 13

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Final – TBC, Eden Park, February 21