Ben Stokes Secures 6 Wickets in English Test Series Warm-up

Practice match, Lilac Hill (day one of 3)

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

England XI: yet to bat

The England captain achieved 6 scalps in his return to play since July but the tourists faced an injury concern regarding fast bowler Wood on the first day of their Ashes warm-up against England Lions in Perth.

The England captain, returning after approximately four months away with a shoulder injury, bowled 16 overs across three spells for his 6-52 against the Lions – each to catches on the on-side.

Pace bowler Wood, also making his comeback after 9 months away with a knee problem, bowled a pre-planned number of eight overs before exiting the field in the afternoon session because of a hamstring problem. He will have a scan on the following day.

The Wood situation sucked the energy out of the day, as the Lions were dismissed for 382 on a sluggish pitch after an automatic toss at Lilac Hill.

The tourists aimed to bowl first to build bowling fitness before the first Ashes Test at the main venue, starting on 21 November.

In a potential indication towards their opening Test strategy, the tourists fielded an all-pace attack – four specialists plus the captain – and omitted spin bowler Shoaib Bashir in the development squad.

Jacob Bethell didn't strengthen his claim for selection in the Test team, making just two runs, but Will Jacks enhanced his claim to be selected during the series by scoring 84.

McKinney, Cox, teenage Rew and Matthew Potts also made fifties.

The team's plan to play a solitary practice match against the Lions has been questioned by some ex-players but Stokes hit back by labeling the doubters "has-beens".

A low-pressure opening day in front of a smattering of spectators at the ground was certainly a different experience from what England will encounter at a packed Optus Stadium next week.

Stokes was excellent in the series against India in the domestic season, only to push himself to breaking point. He was absent from the last match with a shoulder tear.

The skipper has not managed a complete participation in any of England's previous four tours because of different fitness issues and the tourists' chances of winning back the series are significantly reduced if he is absent from any of the five matches in Australia.

He has been bowling at maximum speed for two months and appeared in good condition on Wednesday, even if he could not comprehend the way in which some of his wickets were presented.

Jacks is not expected to feature in the first Test – the team look to have shown their intentions with the eleven selected here. Nevertheless, he may have nudged himself ahead of the struggling Bethell with his eighty-four, which came at almost a run a ball.

Even before the concern over Mark Wood, the five seamers in the England XI for this game may not have been the bowling unit for the initial match.

Brydon Carse missed the opening day because of sickness, with his place going to Josh Tongue. Tongue had opening batsman Ben McKinney caught behind just after lunch.

Although Stokes took the scalps, Jofra Archer impressed observers. He was lively with the new ball and again after the interval, when he caused problems for Jacks.

In the omission of Shoaib Bashir and with Wood leaving the field, Root was required to deliver fourteen overs of his spin bowling. It was mediocre fare, conceding 117 runs at an run rate of over eight.

Joe Root at least claimed a scalp in the final session when Fisher somehow hit a full toss to mid-on before Jofra Archer dismissed with a bouncer Matthew Potts for fifty-three with the final ball of the day.