THE ASHES, 2017-18

Moeen Ali, Steven Finn set to undergo scans

by Tristan Lavalette • Last updated on

England have suffered a double injury scare ahead of the Ashes © Getty

England have suffered a double injury blow ahead of their first Ashes tour warm-up match, with allrounder Moeen Ali and paceman Steven Finn set to undergo scans.

Finn jarred his left knee while batting in the nets on Thursday (November 2) during England's training session at Richardson Park in Perth. He crouched to the ground in pain and then limped off to the change rooms, while Moeen is struggling with a sore left side and did not participate in the training session.

Worryingly for England, Moeen has been ruled out of England's two-day tour opener against a Western Australia XI side starting on Saturday (November 4). With the first Test three weeks away, there is a question mark next to Moeen starting the Ashes. Without him, England's slow bowling stocks are worryingly thin with uncapped leg-spinner Mason Crane the only other spinner in the squad.

For Finn, it is an untimely setback after being a late inclusion into the touring party following star allrounder Ben Stokes being provisionally suspended over a nightclub incident in Bristol. Earlier in the week, Finn had publicly stated that he hoped the Ashes would revive his stalled career, having not played Test cricket for over 12 months.

Meanwhile, Mark Stoneman, England's 30-year-old opener, said he was excited about the daunting Ashes challenge. England come into the Ashes as heavy underdogs, mainly due to concerns over their inexperienced batting line-up. Conversely, Australia's great strength lies in a formidable pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.

Stoneman, who debuted recently against the West Indies, is set to face a baptism of fire when he partners Alastair Cook at the top of the order in Brisbane.

"I think I've got a natural flow to my game, and I'm always looking to score," Stoneman told reporters on Thursday. "Hopefully, that can take pressure off Cookie if I'm playing well.

"I don't think it rests just on myself and Cookie at the top of the order but, generally, the momentum will start there," he added.

Despite being an Ashes newbie, Stoneman, whose wife is Australia, is in familiar terrain having played six seasons of grade cricket in Sydney. In another Australian link, Stoneman's mentor has been Michael Di Venuto, the former Australian batsman and his current coach at Surrey.

"He's been a fantastic mentor for me," Stoneman said of Di Venuto. "He doesn't complicate the game too much. He's definitely taken my game forward."

© Cricbuzz

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