In the meantime, a group of Test players including Zak Crawley, Mark Wood and Ollie Pope will arrive Monday and start training in Perth this week alongside the England Lions squad mentored by Andrew Flintoff. England’s captain Ben Stokes is currently visiting family in New Zealand and will arrive in Perth a few days later.
“We’re incredibly respectful of the challenge Australia is going to present us and we know how hard that tour is going to be,” McCullum said. “It’s going to require a team to stay together right throughout, to be as strong as we can to try and block out any of the outside noise.
England coach Brendon McCullum.Credit: Getty Images
“I think when we do come across the trickier conditions in Australia and Test cricket, we have a pretty good understanding of how we’re going to go about it. It doesn’t guarantee us anything, but it gives us a level of confidence going into that series.”
England’s only warm-up game will be a three-day affair against the Lions at Lilac Hill in Perth. The tourists have been denied access to the WACA Ground for centre wicket training, a luxury afforded to India before their first-up victory in Perth last summer.
The 15-man Australian squad will be designed to cover two possible team configurations depending on how much Cameron Green can bowl. If he can shoulder a fuller complement of overs, there is the likelihood of a complementary opening partner for Usman Khawaja, with Marnus Labuschagne returning at number three.
However, if Green is not yet fit to bowl that much, room will need to be found for Beau Webster, meaning Labuschagne would more than likely open with Khawaja.
Either way, the need for all-round back-up is clearer than ever, given that Australia can ill-afford another injury to their front-line fast men Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc or Scott Boland while Cummins gets back up to speed.
“First player picked [should be] an all-rounder, I think,” Hazlewood said.
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“Going back to those 20-odd Test matches we played with no all-rounder, they were hard yards.
“So if [they] can be in the team, be it bowling, Greeny is obviously an outstanding player, Beau has done great for us whenever he’s played. The more the merrier, I say. They can bowl as much as they want.
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