Ashes 2025: Ollie Pope strikes century as Joe Root, Harry Brook falter in England warm-up against England Lions
Published 14/11/2025 at 12:55 GMT
Ollie Pope may have secured his place in England's batting order with a fine performance on the second day of England's Ashes warm-up against the England Lions, striking a century. Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley combined excellently, whilst Joe Root and Harry Brook both suffered poor innings and departed in soft fashion. The Ashes begin on November 21 and is live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Pope hits classy century in Ashes warm-up match
Video credit: TNT Sports
Ollie Pope struck a century in England's Ashes warm-up game against the England Lions, cementing his place at No. 3 in the batting order.
Day 1 of the warm-up went smoothly, with Ben Stokes impressing among England's bowlers with six wickets.
Pope scored 100 from 113 balls on the second day against Andrew Flintoff's side, and can now set his sights on facing Australia on Friday.
Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley made an opening partnership of 182 and set England on their way to scoring a total of 426.
England lost four wickets for 16 runs after lunch, with both Joe Root and Harry Brook being seen off in poor fashion.
Root was caught for a single after a mis-hit, and Brook was hit for two after charging down the pitch at Nathan Gilchrist.
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But Pope and Stokes combined to steal the initiative back for England, and they shared 137 for the fifth wicket.
The England captain had also impressed on day 1 where he took six wickets in his first outing since injuring his shoulder in July.
Pope hit 16 fours and a six in a quality innings, and Crawley praised the 27-year-old.
"Ollie played brilliantly today, he looks in great touch," said Crawley. "He’s in a really good place with his game and he looks very focused."
Root and Brook are the top two batters in the ICC’s world rankings, and could prove invaluable to England's Ashes hopes.
But the pair did little to stake their claim against the second-string team, and Root's lack of a century down under is well documented.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
Spinner Shoaib Bashir had been left out of the XI for their only warm-up match, and did eventually manage to dismiss Pope and finish with 1-68 from 12 overs.
Potts is unlikely to be in the frame for the first Test, but he did issue a reminder of his talents with 2-66 marked by a sensational spell after lunch that triggered the collapse.
"It's a good wicket to bat on but not too focused on that," Crawley added.
"We're just trying to get some rhythm and spend time in the middle. We're doing everything we can with what we got.
"I feel like we're going to be ready next week."
The Ashes kicks off on Friday, November 21 at Optus Stadium in Perth. Play starts at 2:30am UK time and coverage on TNT Sports 1 begins at 2:00am.
Watch every ball of the 2025/26 Ashes live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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