England pace bowler Mark Wood was cleared after concerns over a hamstring problem
A sunny Saturday morning in Perth, at picturesque Lilac Hill, with an expectation of bad news.
There was even advance warning from England that an announcement concerning Mark Wood was due - not usually a sign of optimism.
Bad news would arrive, just not on the English side of the Ashes divide. Exactly 86 minutes after Wood was cleared following concerns over a hamstring injury, Australia's Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of Friday's first Test with a dodgy hammy of his own. Hazlewood was hamstrung, Wood hamstrong.
The ripple of shock went around the white picket fences of Lilac Hill, rendering the on-field action of England's warm-up match against England Lions inconsequential compared with the action of hamstring scanners in various parts of Australia.
