Dillon Pennington called into England Lions squad after three-day defeat in Brisbane

ECB Reporters Network16-Jan-2025Cricket Australia XI 176 (Hearne 106, Cook 4-15) and 261 for 3 (Ward 115, Handscomb 57) beat England Lions 223 (Davies 54, Gannon 5-27) and 213 (McKinney 94, Bell 3-32) by six wicketsA Tim Ward century led a Cricket Australia XI to a six-wicket win over England Lions in their opening tour match at the Ian Healy Oval in Brisbane.Ward struck 115 before he retired out, while captain Peter Handscomb added 57, as the hosts coasted to their victory target of 261 on the third day. Hampshire duo John Turner and Sonny Baker claimed the only two wickets to fall after Shoaib Bashir had made a late breakthrough on day two.Opener Ward paced the home innings to reach his century from 195 balls and shared a 110-run third-wicket stand with Handscomb to steer his side to their win.Baker claimed the opening wicket of the day when Henry Hunt edged behind to James Rew but the Lions were made to sweat by Ward and Handscomb as they took the game away. Turner ended the partnership when Handscomb top-edged a hook and was caught by Hamza Shaikh on the rope before Ward retired out for Lachlan Hearne and Jack Clayton to steer the CAXI home.The Lions have called up Nottinghamshire seamer Dillon Pennington, currently with an ECB training camp in the UAE, for the remainder of the tour to bolster the fast-bowling group.The Lion will play a second tour game against a CAXI in Brisbane next week before the unofficial Test, which will hold first-class status, against Australia A in Sydney which starts on 30 January.