England will step up their preparations for the upcoming day-night Ashes Test by taking on the Prime Minister’s XI in a two-day pink-ball match, Cricket Australia announced on Tuesday (July 29). This clash, scheduled for November 29 and 30 at Canberra’s Manuka Oval, marks the first time England will face the PM’s XI in a multi-day format, as previous encounters had traditionally been limited-overs games until the 2022–23 season.
The timing of the fixture is significant—it is set between the first and second Tests of the Ashes series. Just three days after the PM’s XI match, England will take on Australia in a crucial pink-ball Test at the Gabba, starting December 4.
England: Match to Feature Australia’s Top Emerging Talent
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed enthusiasm for the fixture and the selection process.
“𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒂 𝑷𝑴’𝒔 𝑿𝑰 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝑨𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒂 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎,”
He stated.
This match will serve as England’s second warm-up fixture on the tour, following an intra-squad encounter with the England Lions ahead of the first Test in Perth. The tour management sees these preparatory games as essential to acclimatise players to Australian conditions, especially under lights.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕,”
A team spokesperson added.
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