England's batting woes showed no signs of abating as their Ashes warm-up against England Lions descended into disarray. Joe Root, touted as a savior from Australia's failure to lift the urn on previous visits, struggled to make an impact, miscuing a pull off Matt Potts to midwicket for just one run in his 12-ball innings.
In stark contrast, Ollie Pope, often overlooked in the midst of the England batting hierarchy, seized the opportunity with both hands, scoring a century before edging into trouble against Shoaib Bashir's delivery. Pope's aggressive approach earned him the three-bird competition among England's top three batsmen – Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett.
Crawley, however, struggled to make his mark, dismissed in the 80s, while Duckett was more of a one-trick pony, smacking boundaries with the edge of his bat. Stokes, who had starred with the ball on Thursday, made a valiant effort with the bat but top-edged a Will Jacks delivery, which arced neatly to Bashir.
Ben Duckett's boundaries were an outlier in the Lions' batting display, and even that was marred by a dropped catch from Ben McKinney in the slips. The England Lions bowlers had a field day, with four of them – Matt Potts, Nathan Gilchrist, Jacob Bethell, and Brydon Carse – claiming wickets.
Potts's nightmare stretch saw him concede 40 runs in five overs but eventually settled into a more measured pace, ending the day as the outstanding bowler despite his limited haul. The England Lions were left to ponder how they could capitalize on their opponents' struggles, with a substantial lead of 51 set before stumps.
England, meanwhile, will be under pressure to make better use of this opportunity as they head into the real Ashes contest next Friday. While Pope showed promising signs of his capabilities, Root's struggles may raise eyebrows back in England, casting doubt on whether he can inspire a successful Ashes campaign.
In stark contrast, Ollie Pope, often overlooked in the midst of the England batting hierarchy, seized the opportunity with both hands, scoring a century before edging into trouble against Shoaib Bashir's delivery. Pope's aggressive approach earned him the three-bird competition among England's top three batsmen – Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett.
Crawley, however, struggled to make his mark, dismissed in the 80s, while Duckett was more of a one-trick pony, smacking boundaries with the edge of his bat. Stokes, who had starred with the ball on Thursday, made a valiant effort with the bat but top-edged a Will Jacks delivery, which arced neatly to Bashir.
Ben Duckett's boundaries were an outlier in the Lions' batting display, and even that was marred by a dropped catch from Ben McKinney in the slips. The England Lions bowlers had a field day, with four of them – Matt Potts, Nathan Gilchrist, Jacob Bethell, and Brydon Carse – claiming wickets.
Potts's nightmare stretch saw him concede 40 runs in five overs but eventually settled into a more measured pace, ending the day as the outstanding bowler despite his limited haul. The England Lions were left to ponder how they could capitalize on their opponents' struggles, with a substantial lead of 51 set before stumps.
England, meanwhile, will be under pressure to make better use of this opportunity as they head into the real Ashes contest next Friday. While Pope showed promising signs of his capabilities, Root's struggles may raise eyebrows back in England, casting doubt on whether he can inspire a successful Ashes campaign.
England's batting is like, super messy right now lol. Joe Root's form is really wobbly and it's making me question if he's the savior they thought he was 
. Meanwhile, Ollie Pope came out swinging and scored a century which is awesome! 
But the rest of the team? Not so much. Ben Duckett just smacks boundaries but can't do anything else and Zak Crawley struggled to even get off the ground 
. Anyway, it's gonna be super interesting to see how they recover for the real Ashes next Friday 
. I mean, we've all been there where we feel like nobody sees our potential, but then we get a chance to prove ourselves and BAM! We can do some damage 
. The thing is though, sometimes even when we're doing well, we still gotta keep working at it 'cause complacency can creep in real quick 
.
. Like Ben Duckett, he was on fire with the boundaries but couldn't quite sustain that level of performance 
. That's a great reminder that even when we're feeling confident or on top of our game, it's still about how we respond to challenges and setbacks in the long run 
. That shows us that everyone has their ups and downs, but if we can learn to adapt and stay focused, we can still achieve great things 
.
and pope is just killin it!! i mean, who wudnt want a 100 in thashash warm up?? 
but stokes, crawley & duckett r just not impressin me lol... they cud do better than dat 
& the england lions bowlers r like the real MVPs 
potts is like teh man tho, hes tryna get it rite even wif his bad stretch 
But at the same time, it was so frustrating to watch him play, because he just seemed like he was trying too hard and not really being himself as a batter. And on the other hand, Ollie Pope's approach is kinda intimidating, you know? 
He's been one of England's best batters for years, but now he's struggling, so maybe it's time to give someone else a chance? 
I don't know... my mind is all over the place! 
!
he was on fire out there and showed everyone what he's got 
even though they're still struggling as a team overall i think it's great that Pope is giving them a reason to be hopeful about the Ashes 
and at least some of their bowlers are doing alright too, Potts was pretty sharp despite his wobble 
What's going on with that guy? And the fact that they only scored 51 before stumps is just embarrassing. England needs to step up their game if they want to have any chance against Australia next Friday. 
, but I've been out of touch for a bit! So, it looks like the Lions batting display was pretty underwhelming? I think Pope's century was a nice bright spot, and it'll be interesting to see how he carries that form into the Ashes. But yeah, Root's struggles are definitely a concern - does England have anyone who can fill in the gaps if he's not firing on all cylinders? And what's with Duckett's one-trick pony approach 
️. And Ben Duckett just smacks a few boundaries and that's it? Not impressed 
. England needs to sort out their batting woes or else they'll be in trouble against Australia next Friday 
. But at the same time, I feel bad for Joe Root, he's always been touted as this big savior for England but he just can't seem to get it together 
.
. popes a century tho, that's some nice work