Rory Burns batted most of the final morning of England’s intra-squad warm-up match as he attempted to reassert his claims for a Test recall next week. With Sam Curran still awaiting the results of his latest Covid-19 test, having been instructed to self-isolate following illness, attention returned to matters in the middle. The Surrey captain will hope to have enough credit in the bank to regain his spot for the #raisethebat series opener at the same ground next Wednesday, but saw his hopes of a big score perish when Moeen Ali bowled him attacking on the back foot. Burns opened alongside the uncapped James Bracey, whose first-innings 85 remains the top score of the match, and the pair added a relatively comfortable stand of 61. Buttler arrived after Burns was dismissed by Moeen, losing his stumps as he attempted to slash through cover.

Source: Express July 03, 2020 12:20 UTC