The India vs England Test series starts just a couple of days away. To prepare for their toughest challenge yet, Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum are on a nine-day training camp in Abu Dhabi. Some have questioned Stokes and Baz’s decision not to travel to India and play some practice matches, but England have already gotten their bases covered in that regard.
Knowing the challenge that lay ahead of them, they sent their ‘A’ side, the England Lions, on a 3-match tour of India. Just yesterday, their first match (India A vs England A) was concluded. To no one’s surprise, the Lions also adopted their new ‘Bazball’ approach.
Batting first, the England Lions scored a mammoth 553 at 4.6 runs per over. They followed the trend in the second inning as well, scoring 163 at 5.6 runs per over. However, it wasn’t just their approach that stood out, but rather who adopted it.
Batters and Pacers shine for the England Lions
Traditional batters like Keaton Jennings (218), Alex Lees (84), and Josh Bohannon (125) performed exceptionally, and that too at a rapid pace. Jenning and Lees both struck at over 80. But it was Jennings who stood out, scoring 218 runs, a 154 in the first dig, and a 65-ball 64 in the second.
Despite the 4-day match ending in a draw, Jennings, Bohannon, Matthew Potts, and Matthew Fisher stood out for the England Lions.
With an untested and fragile batting lineup, England would take notice of this performance and may call them up if Harry Brook, Ollie Pope, and Zak Crawley fail to make their mark. On the bowling front, Potts (6) and Fisher (4) were impressed with their pace and accuracy.
England only has one speedster in their squad for the IND vs ENG Test series, an injury-prone Mark Wood. With a 41-year-old Jimmy Anderson and a slow-medium Ollie Robinson, England may require the services of Potts and Fisher.
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