England know they will begin the Ashes with uncertainty surrounding three positions in their top five, a problem which has dogged them for a number of years, but on the first day of their second tour match, England's batting line-up had the perfect opportunity to put a marker down for the rest of the tour. Instead, on a blameless pitch at the Adelaide Oval against a Cricket Australia XI who possessed no more than a workmanlike attack, including two bowlers making their first-class debuts, they rather fluffed their lines.

After being asked to bat first by the CA XI captain Tim Paine,