JOE Clarke made his first senior appearance in England colours and scored 45 on day one of the two-day friendly with a Cricket Australia XI in Perth.

The Worcestershire batsman came in at number seven and hit seven boundaries in his 55-ball knock.

Clarke added 92 for the eighth wicket with Tom Curran (77 not out) as England totalled 314-9 declared.

The 21-year-old is out in Australia as part of the Lions squad and last week scored 92 in a T20 match against a Western Australia X1.

Moeen Ali was skippering England in the game and made 24 off 36 deliveries after coming to the wicket at number four.

The Worcestershire all-rounder is playing purely as a batsman to protect his injured spinning finger.

Cricket Australia replied with 62-1 by the close on the first day.

Moeen is looking to improve on his performances with the ball in the opening two Tests.

He said: “I don’t want to make excuses. I haven’t bowled great.

"I couldn’t feel the ball in my fingers during the first Test. It was really sore and at the end of the second it ripped again.

“I’ve always said ‘It’s just a game of cricket’. But the only time I feel pressure is when I feel I’ve let the team down”

“I need to bowl but I don’t want it to rip again. It’s much better but in the second innings in Adelaide it started to rip again.

"So I’m not going to bowl. I’m going to let it heal more.”

The game with the Cricket Australia XI was eventually drawn after the hosts declared on 151-4 before England did likewise on 130-3 in their second innings.

Moeen top-scored with 47 off 41 balls with six fours and two sixes.

The Aussies then managed 269-8 before the close.