Scott Boland has flagged Joe Root as the England batter to “take down” this Ashes series as Pat Cummins stepped up his return from a back injury with an encouraging net session at Perth Stadium.
England were handed a day off on Monday after their warm-up fixture at Lilac Hill, as Australia’s players began their preparations after flying in 24 hours earlier. A green-tinged pitch was being watered out in the middle as temperatures hit 33C inside the ground.
