Stokes six-for highlights England's first day of pre-Ashes action

Skipper shows form on return from injury but Mark Wood's early exit casts shadow over touring group

Tristan Lavalette

13-Nov-2025 • 1 hr ago

England Lions 382 (Jacks 84, McKinney 67, Rew 55, Stokes 6-52) vs England

England's Ashes tour opener was a contrasting tale of comebacks. An injury scare to quick Mark Wood put a real dampener on England's first day of their only warm-up match ahead of the Ashes series.

Wood was sent for a precautionary scan after experiencing hamstring stiffness in his long-awaited return to competitive cricket after knee surgery. He had bowled two four-over spells before leaving the field in the second session.

But it wasn't all grim news, with England receiving a tonic after a stirring return from skipper Ben Stokes, who bent his back and finished with 6 for 52 from 16 overs against the England Lions on a sedate surface at Lilac Hill.

All Stokes' wickets were from shorter-length deliveries, underlining his intensity and fitness levels having ramped up his bowling loads over the last couple of months following a shoulder injury in late July.

Stokes was aided by several batters holing out, but he did conjure something out of a slow pitch that lacked bounce, with several nicks failing to carry to the slips. It's not the ideal preparation with conditions set to be considerably more hostile in the first Test on the fast and bouncy Optus Stadium surface.

Wood and Jofra Archer did produce several trademark fierce short deliveries, but the Lions batters were mostly untroubled. Opener Ben McKinney, Jordan Cox, Will Jacks, 17-year-old Thomas Rew and Matthew Potts all hit aggressive half-centuries as the Lions were bowled out for 382 off 79.2 overs to complete the day's play.

"It was good to get miles in the legs. To walk off the pitch with 10 wickets was a successful day," England batter Harry Brook told reporters. "It was [the surface] a little bit slow, but we can't do much about that.

"We've got the opportunity to go out there and bat tomorrow and hopefully we can go past their score."

As Stokes hinted on match eve, England's Ashes squad were given opportunities with the main XI featuring an all-out pace attack, perhaps instructive of the hierarchy's preference for the first Test. It meant offspinner Shoaib Bashir played in the Lions XI, while quick Brydon Carse did not make it to the ground on day one due to illness.

Archer and Gus Atkinson shared the new ball and dusted off the cobwebs on a docile pitch only to be thwarted by an aggressive McKinney. Archer unleashed several shorter deliveries to good effect, but was unable to provide an opening breakthrough in his first six-over spell.

Amid the scenic surrounds of the wineries region, the game seemed to be going through a lull, leaving Stokes to rev up his side in the field before he decided to take charge with the ball. He came on first-change and picked up skipper Tom Haines and a sluggish Jacob Bethell in the only wickets to fall in the first session.

Bethell did not score until his 16th delivery before whacking the next ball straight to square leg. Stokes was at times wayward and relatively expensive, but got through his six-over spell untroubled to put to rest any fitness concerns.

Wood's first four-over spell cost 12 runs as he ran in hard in a determined effort to conjure some life off the surface. McKinney was in aggressive touch only for his momentum to come to a halt by the lunch break and he nicked off to seamer Josh Tongue shortly after resumption.

Before he left the field, Wood had Cox in some discomfort with several rearing deliveries as the game lifted in energy. Wood's departure did cast a shadow over the rest of the day as a succession of Lions batters in the backend decided to go for broke.

Stokes kept charging in, bowling another six-over spell from the other end of the ground and he benefited from the ultra-aggressive approach of the opposition. The final session felt like a bit of a lark at times, with Potts taking the long handle to the spin of Joe Root, clubbing a slew of sixes out of the playing field and onto the next ground.

With Bashir not selected in the main XI, Root was England's primary spinner and his figures nosedived to finish with 1 for 117 off 14 overs.

Archer claimed Potts to ensure he did not go wicketless as the day's play finished roughly on its scheduled close.

With a Sheffield Shield match ongoing at the WACA, this game has been shunted about 30km away from the city and on a suburban ground that once used to host light-hearted 50-over games for touring teams.

Perhaps whipped into a frenzy by the local tabloid newspaper, which has crudely mocked Stokes and Root on its front page, there were plenty of honking horns from vehicles passing by, with one occupant shouting rather abusive language that rang around the ground.

But there was no rowdy behaviour from the several hundred fans at the ground, mostly England supporters who walked away with mixed feelings.

Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth

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