Wood cleared of injury, Pope ups the tempo in Ashes warm-up

Ollie Pope went into Bazball overdrive and Joe Root got at least some time in the middle on a day when veteran England paceman Mark Wood received good news on the injury front.

England snared a five-wicket win in their three-day warm-up match against an England Lions side at Lilac Hill on Saturday, chasing down the victory target of 202 in 34.4 overs.

Just a day after Pope made 100 in England's first-innings total of 426, the 27-year-old followed it up with 90 off 67 balls, with the classic Bazball knock featuring 12 fours and two sixes.

Pope's pair of classy knocks has all but locked his place in at No.3 for the first Ashes Test in Perth, fending off a challenge from 22-year-old rising star Jacob Bethell.

Veteran batter Root, who made just one in the first innings, posted 31 off 52 balls.

Root is yet to record a Test century in Australia, and his performances this summer will go a long way to determining whether England can cause an Ashes upset.

Wood experienced tightness in his left hamstring on Thursday after bowling his eighth over on the opening day of the three-day practice match.

The 35-year-old was playing his first game since undergoing knee surgery in March, and the hamstring niggle has raised big doubts about his durability.

But scans have cleared him of any damage, and although Wood didn't bowl for England on Saturday, he will train next week in a bid to prove his fitness for the first Test, starting Friday.

"That's great news," fellow paceman Brydon Carse said.

"For any player, when you're waiting on a result of a scan, it can be a little bit niggly.

"But he was fairly confident that it was going to be nothing serious. And he's obviously received that positive news. So he's all up and about and full of energy at the moment.

"He's going to have a couple of days off and then have a good bit of training leading up to that first Test."

Selecting Wood for the Ashes opener would represent a major risk given his lack of match fitness.

Jofra Archer, who returned figures of 1-51 and 0-15 across two innings on a docile pitch at Lilac Hill, looms as a more likely option for the opening Test.

Archer has played just two Tests over the past four years, but the injury-prone quick has at least been playing for England in the ODI and T20 formats in recent months.

The 30-year-old got through a total of 17.3 overs during the warm-up match.

England's decision to use the intra-team match as their only preparation for the Ashes has drawn widespread criticism.

And the flat and slow nature of the Lilac Hill pitch – which will be in stark contrast to what will greet players at Optus Stadium – has added further heat on England's choice of warm-up.

In reply to the Lions' 375, England posted 426 on Friday, with Pope (100), Ben Duckett (92 off 97 balls), Zak Crawley (82 off 101) and Ben Stokes (77) among the runs.

England's pace attack struggled without Wood on Saturday, with Carse (3-65) the only one to enjoy much success.

Archer only bowled five overs as England look to manage his loads.

Spinner Shoaib Bashir's hopes of selection for the first Test received a blow when he returned figures of 1-83 from 12 overs.

2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men's Ashes

First Test: November 21-25, Perth Stadium, 1:20pm AEDT

Second Test: December 4-8, The Gabba, Brisbane (D/N), 3pm AEDT

Third Test: December 17-21: Adelaide Oval, 10:30am AEDT

Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10:30am AEDT

Fifth Test: January 4-8: SCG, Sydney, 10:30am AEDT

Australia squad: (First Test only): Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Harry Brook (vc), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Mark Wood