Follow UsIt was one of the earliest finishes to an Ashes Test in Perth. A little over 67 overs were bowled in the first Test that saw Australia romp home to an eight-wicket victory. Travis Head played one of the most devastating innings as his century left Ben Stokes' men shell-shocked.
With England lasting just a couple of days on the field, former skippers Alastair Cook and Michael Vaughan have urged the full team to play the two-day warm-up fixture against the Prime Minister's XI in Canberra in the lead-up to the second Test in Brisbane.
"In this situation, I would want to go and play in the pink-ball game against the Prime Minister's XI in Canberra, not just leave it to the Lions players," he wrote in his Sunday Times column.
"It can be an uncomfortable decision as you are opening yourself up to failing again, but putting yourself under pressure can have long-term benefits. However much you practise in the nets, you cannot replicate the feeling of time in the middle."
Vaughan believes it is amateurish on England's part if they do not travel to Canberra for the match. "It's amateurish if they don't go and play now," he said, as per ESPNCricinfo.
"What harm is playing two days of cricket with a pink ball under lights?
"They've played two days of cricket. They've been out in the field for, what, 70 [67.3] overs? Look, they're professional cricketers. I can't be so old-school to suggest that by playing cricket, you might get a little bit better… My method would be, you've got a pink-ball, two-day game: you go and grab it, go and take it. Play those two days, and make sure that you're giving yourself the best chance.
"It's not being old-school to suggest that a pink ball is different to a red ball. Playing under the lights is different. Australia have won pretty much every pink-ball game in Australia: they've lost once. I'm not too old-school to suggest that they should play in that game… I'd like to know why they wouldn't."
Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks and Matthew Potts were released from the Ashes squad to play Cricket Australia XI at Lilac Hill and England could take a similar approach for the PM's XI match.
England will hope to bounce back from the Perth humiliation and draw level in the series when they take on Australia in the second Test - a day-night fixture - in Brisbane from December 4 onwards.