England book Waca warm-up to fix Ashes mistakes

England have acknowledged past mistakes by scheduling a 50-over warm-up fixture ahead of their white-ball tour of Australia this winter. Brendon McCullum's side is set to face a Western Australia XI at the Waca in Perth on 7 November, arriving six days prior to the opening one-day international.

The Test team faced heavy criticism during last winter's 4-1 Ashes defeat for relying on a solitary in-house warm-up match at Lilac Hill against the Lions. Conditions at that club ground proved vastly different from Optus Stadium, where England suffered a two-day defeat and lost the series early.

England and Wales Cricket Board chair Richard Thompson admitted that errors were made in planning those previous fixtures. "There is a lot that was learned," Thompson said, adding that decisions taken far ahead of time have now been corrected.

McCullum, who remains in charge of the white-ball setup, noted that preparing players quickly is vital ahead of next year's 50-over World Cup. Aside from experienced figures like Joe Root, Jos Buttler, and Adil Rashid, the squad features limited overall experience in the format.

In addition to the Australian white-ball fixtures, England have arranged warm-ups ahead of Test tours to South Africa and Bangladesh, alongside a 150th-anniversary Test against Australia in Melbourne. The ECB and Cricket Australia have also agreed to codify proper preparation arrangements for future Ashes series.

Thompson emphasized that these agreements ensure touring teams are not reliant on goodwill moving forward. England's upcoming schedule features three ODIs and five T20s in Australia from 13 November to 2 December, following a 50-over tri-series in Pakistan.