England have 'learned' from their mistakes in the Ashes series and are scheduling a 50-over match ahead of the tour of Australia this winter, according to the chair of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Richard Thompson.
The white-ball side, led by Brendon McCullum, will play against Western Australia XI at the WACA in Perth on 7 November, six days before the start of the one-day international series. The test side had been heavily criticised after suffering a 4-1 defeat in the Ashes series last winter.
"A lot has been learned," said Thompson. "You have to bear in mind that these decisions are made much earlier. The reality is that mistakes were made in those decisions and we have now corrected them."
McCullin, meanwhile, has stepped down as head coach of the test side but remains in charge of the white-ball teams. During the Ashes series, he acknowledged that there may have been errors in the preparation. Their previous warm-up match had been played against the Lions at the Lilac Hill ground, where the conditions were significantly different from those at the Optimum Stadium, where England had lost within two days, leading to the series being surrendered at the earliest opportunity. The ECB had stated at the time that they had been told the WACA was not available.
England are also due to play warm-up matches ahead of the tours of South Africa and Bangladesh this winter, as well as a warm-up match ahead of the one-off test against Australia in March. These matches were scheduled before Stephen Fleming replaced the current head coach this summer.
The ECB and Cricket Australia have also agreed on a reciprocal arrangement in which visiting teams will receive better preparation ahead of Ashes series. "These things are codified in the agreement, so we are not relying on goodwill," said Thompson. "There cannot be a situation where the president or the chief executive leaves and the goodwill disappears. It is important that the Ashes has the best preparation for both teams, the best grounds and the best conditions. This is something you will see in the future for both teams."
Thompson spoke at an event at Lord's on the launch of a new initiative to increase participation in state schools. This addition to the 50-over schedule is partly the result of that agreement, and follows McCullin's expressed desire to organise such matches so that players are 'in form' ahead of the next 50-over World Cup.
Warm-up matches in the white format have lost their significance in recent years. England have not played a white-ball match for six years. England have won three 50-over series in a row following a poor run in that format. Joe Root was the only player in their last side with more than 50 caps. England have the least 20 matches before the World Cup next autumn.
"Except for Joe, Joe and Adil Rashid, there is not much experience in that team," said McCullin after the win over Sri Lanka. "We will try to organise a few warm-up matches to bring the players up to speed as quickly as possible."
England will play three ODIs and five T20s in Australia this winter from 13 November to 2 December. They also play a triangular 50-over series in Pakistan against the host and Sri Lanka later this month. The publication of the new central contract for England is expected next week, having originally been scheduled for the beginning of October.
