The old enemy will have their mettle tested at the State’s traditional home of cricket next month, with England to take on WA at the WACA Ground in a warm-up game ahead of their One-Day International series against Australia.
The tourists will come up against WA on Saturday, November 7, six days before beginning a three-game 50-over series against Australia on the other side of the Swan River at Optus Stadium.
The game will be the first a men’s international outfit has played at the WACA since 2022, when India faced WA in a pair of Twenty20 matches.
With the ODI series falling inside a year before the start of the 2027 Cricket World Cup, England are expected to bring a full-strength squad featuring plenty of familiar Ashes rivals.
After finally making his first Test century on Australian shores last summer, the legendary Joe Root could lead their batting unit, while speedster Jofra Archer may be unleashed on a pitch which has historically been the country’s quickest.
WA’s one-day captain Ashton Turner said he was hoping a strong crowd would pack into the recently-redeveloped venue and see a contest played on a surface showcasing the WACA’s traditional attributes.
“We have really good cricket wickets here in Perth. They’re unique, they have characteristics that are replicated in no other part of the world. We’re proud of that and we hope that it will be a challenge for domestic and touring international sides,” he said.
“That being said, we know England are a high-quality side playing some really good cricket. It will be an exciting clash.
“We know how well-supported we are here. Any time Western Australia, the Perth Scorchers or Australia get to turn out and play cricket here in Perth, we know that we’re well-supported, and I’m sure this will be no different.”
In years past, several of WA’s emerging talents have given glimpses into their talents with strong performances in tour games.
All-rounder Aaron Hardie had the distinction of dismissing both Root and Virat Kohli before emerging as a star for WA, while Josh Philippe — who has since defected to New South Wales — compiled an aggressive 88 against an England attack featuring James Anderson and Stuart Broad before even making his first-class debut in 2017.
Turner said he was confident the State’s current emerging crop of talent would be able to enhance their credentials in next month’s contest.
“It’s just another great chance for us to test the depth of our squad,” he said.
“We’ve got some really exciting cricketers in Western Australia who are yet to become household names, but any time that we get to face international-quality opponents is a chance to up-skill.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who’ve done a lot of good work behind the scenes. It’s another chance for them to put their names up in lights.”
