England draw tour match with Western Australia

PERTH (Australia)—Alastair Cook made an unbeaten 106 and his test opening partner Andrew Strauss 88 as England took full advantage of an opportunity for batting practice on the second day of a two-day cricket match against Western Australia on Sunday. Cook and Strauss shared a 183-run partnership in England’s total of 356 for four as the match, designed to give the tourists experience of Perth’s WACA ground ahead of the third Ashes test which starts there on Thursday, faded to a draw.
Western Australia declared its first innings early Sunday at 322 for eight after allowing overnight batsman Luke Pomersbach to reach an unbeaten century. Pomersbach was 101 not out when the declaration was made. England then had the best part of a day to practice on the WACA pitch and Cook and Strauss made full use of the opportunity, playing composed and enterprising innings. Cook batted 217 minutes and struck 14 fours before retiring and Strauss spent 171 minutes in the middle, hitting 12 fours before he was bowled 12 runs. Wicketkeeper Geraint Jones squandered his opportunity when he was out to a first-ball duck but Chris Read, his potential replacement in England’s third test squad which will be named Monday, cashed in with a tidy unbeaten 59.
Cook’s form was reassuring after his scores of 11, 43, 27 and 9 in the first two Ashes tests, won by Australia by 277 runs and six wickets. Strauss also gained confidence after his test scores of 12 and 11 at Brisbane and 14 and 34 at Adelaide.
The match did little to help the test cause of England spinner Ashley Giles, however. Giles bowled only eight overs in the West Australian innings and scored 4, suggesting he may struggle to hold his place at Perth. His likely replacement, left-armer Monty Panesar, stated his selection case strongly on Saturday when he took one for 69 from 25 useful overs. Meanwhile, England’s 2005 Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan has ruled out a quick return to the England team for the current series. Vaughan, who is recovering from a knee injury, fielded on the first day of the West Australian match Saturday.—Agencies