Mark Stoneman laments 'sloppy' dismissals in England's Ashes warm-up in Adelaide
Stoneman: 'It was just disappointing I didn't make a really big score, and really get myself into the tour'
Wednesday 8 November 2017 12:37, UK
Mark Stoneman says England are "frustrated" that none of their batsmen managed to score centuries on day one of their pink-ball Ashes tune-up match in Adelaide.
Stoneman (61), skipper Joe Root (58) and Dawid Malan (63) each passed fifty - Stoneman and Malan for the second time in two games - but subsequently failed to reach three figures as England closed on 278-8 in the day-night clash against a Cricket Australia XI.
Root's side will tackle Australia in a day-night Test in Adelaide from December 2, the second match of the Ashes series which begins at The Gabba in Brisbane on Thursday, November 23.
"Everyone got a bit of time in the middle but we are a fraction disappointed with some of the dismissals we had," opening batsman Stoneman told reporters at stumps.
"We were a little on the sloppy side and are frustrated that we didn't kick on and get a couple of hundreds, so there are lessons to be learnt.
"The rhythm is there, the timing has been pretty good, and I am happy with the way things are progressing. It was just disappointing I didn't make a really big score, and really get myself into the tour," added Stoneman, who scored 85 against a WACA XI in Perth over the weekend.
I’m not sure too many of us were concentrating on it. Fair play to him, he is obviously a world-class performer.
The Surrey man says he encountered few gremlins against the pink ball, insisting that a sluggish track and outfield prevented England - who lost three wickets for seven runs in the twilight period before the close - from scoring runs at a speedier rate.
"I found the pink ball fine, the odd one seamed around but there was not a great deal of movement, to be honest," said Stoneman, who made his England Test debut against Windies this summer.
"I'm not sure the ball does more [in the twilight period], it's just that you can catch new batsmen off guard under lights.
"It was quite a slow wicket and a considerably slow outfield. It wasn't great for free-scoring and putting bowlers under pressure - we were never really able to punish the bad balls - so 278 is probably worth about 320, I would have thought."
