Secure Stoneman
England have been looking for an opening partner for Alastair Cook for a long time and the latest man to get a chance is Mark Stoneman.
He looked good at Adelaide as he scored 61 before he was spectacularly caught by Jake Cader off the bowling of leg spinner Daniel Fallins, although he will be annoyed that he hit the ball in the air at all from a poor delivery.
Stoneman showed he has what it takes to open in Australia and if he plays like this in the Test matches, he’ll have a good Ashes series.
Vince has the talent, does he have the temperament?
James Vince will start the Ashes as England’s number three batsman having been given another chance after initially failing to impress at Test level.
His innings was going well as he got to 33 before a rush of blood saw him completely miss a pretty poor ball from leg spinner Fallins.
We all know Vince can play but he needs to cut out the silly errors which have plagued his England career so far.
Reliance on Root
Joe Root is one of the best players in the world and he showed that again with his innings of 58.
Whilst we didn’t learn too much about Root’s game as we all know how good he can be, we did see how important he is to the side.
He keeps the scoreboard moving, which will be key in the Ashes as Australia try to crank up the pressure.
However, he gifted his wicket away, trying to slog Fallins into next week.
England need Root to contribute and he simply can’t get himself out in such manners if his side are to be successful, when he’s in, he needs to score big runs. He’s too good to get out in such a manner.
Dawid Malan looks settled
We learned, via England’s team selection, that Dawid Malan will start the Ashes as the number five batsman ahead of Gary Ballance and the experienced Middlesex man looked good once again as he scored 63, although he will be kicking himself as he played a loose shot in the final over of the day and was caught on a rebound at slip.
Chris Woakes' batting will be valuable
With no Ben Stokes or Moeen Ali playing in this game, Chris Woakes batted at number seven and he reminded us all that he’s more than capable with the bat with his score of 33.
England will be desperate to get Ali fit for the first Test, meaning Woakes will bat at number eight and his runs from there could be key.
England’s lower order batting has been a major strength in recent years and in Woakes, they have a front line bowler who is able to contribute vital runs.
Poor shots
England simply cannot afford to gift wickets to Australia if they want to be successful in the Ashes, but that’s exactly what they did in this game.
Alastair Cook edged the type of ball that he’s been leaving for over a decade whilst Root and Vince got too cocky against the young leg spinner.
Even Stoneman got out to a full toss, and although it was a great catch, he’ll be disappointed to have hit the ball in the air.
Malan had played so well all game too until he decided to attack a ball in the final over. He was a bit unfortunate as he was caught on a rebound but still, playing that shot at that time was inexcusable.
Mitchell Starc and co. will be dangerous enough as it is without England gifting their wickets away and they’ll need to cut out these mental errors when the Test matches start.
Here's more you might like