Stokes Takes Six Wickets in English Ashes Warm-up

Tour match, Perth venue (day one of 3)

Development squad 382: Will Jacks 84, McKinney 67; Stokes 6-52

England XI: yet to bat

The England captain achieved six wickets in his initial appearance since July but England encountered an fitness worry involving Mark Wood on the first day of their Test preparation against England Lions in Western Australia.

Stokes, returning after almost four months out with a shoulder injury, delivered 16 overs across three bowling spells for his 6-52 versus the Lions – each to catches on the on-side.

Pace bowler Wood, himself returning after nine months away with a knee problem, bowled a scheduled amount of 8 overs before exiting the field in the post-lunch session because of a hamstring problem. He will receive scanning on the following day.

The Wood situation sucked the intensity out of the day, as the England Lions were dismissed for three hundred eighty-two on a sluggish pitch after an uncontested toss at Lilac Hill.

England aimed to bowl first to accumulate bowling time before the first Ashes Test at the main venue, starting on 21 November.

In a possible hint towards their opening Test strategy, the visiting team selected an all-pace attack – four specialists plus Stokes – and omitted spin bowler Shoaib Bashir in the Lions.

Bethell failed to press his case for inclusion in the Test side, making only two, but Will Jacks enhanced his claim to be selected later in the tour by scoring 84.

Ben McKinney, Jordan Cox, teenage Rew and Potts also made fifties.

England's plan to play a single practice match against the development squad has been criticized by some former players but the captain responded by calling the critics "past players".

A relaxed opening day in front of a small crowd of fans at Lilac Hill was definitely a different experience from what England will encounter at a packed Optus Stadium the following week.

Stokes was superb in the series against the Indian team in the home summer, only to strain himself to injury. He missed the final Test with a torn shoulder.

The skipper has not managed a full part in any of the team's previous four series because of different fitness issues and the tourists' hopes of regaining the Ashes are significantly reduced if he misses any of the five matches in Australia.

He has been bowling at full pace for two months and looked in fine shape on Wednesday, even if he could not comprehend the way in which some of his wickets were presented.

Jacks is unlikely to play in the opening match – England look to have revealed their hand with the XI selected here. Nevertheless, he may have moved himself in front of the out-of-sorts Bethell with his 84, which came at nearly run-a-ball pace.

Even before the concern over Wood, the five seamers in the team lineup for this game may not have been the attack for the initial match.

Brydon Carse was absent from the opening day because of sickness, with his position going to Tongue. Tongue had opening batsman Ben McKinney edging to the keeper just after the break.

Although the captain took the wickets, Jofra Archer impressed observers. He was energetic with the fresh ball and once more after lunch, when he discomforted Jacks.

In the omission of Shoaib Bashir and with Mark Wood departing, Joe Root was asked to deliver 14 overs of his off-spin. It was average performance, costing 117 runs at an run rate of more than eight.

Root at least took a wicket in the closing stages when Matt Fisher somehow struck a full toss to the fielder before Archer bounced out Matthew Potts for 53 with the final ball of the day.