Stokes Takes Six Wickets in England Ashes Preparation Match
Tour match, Lilac Hill (first day of 3)
Development squad 382: Jacks 84, Ben McKinney 67; Ben Stokes 6-52
National team: still to bat
Ben Stokes delivered 6 scalps in his first action after July but England encountered an fitness worry involving fast bowler Wood on the first day of their Test preparation versus the development squad in Western Australia.
Skipper's Outstanding Return
The England captain, making his comeback after nearly four months out with a shoulder problem, delivered 16 overs across three spells for his six for fifty-two versus England Lions – each to catches on the leg side.
Wood's Fitness Worry
Fast bowler Mark Wood, himself returning after 9 months away with a knee injury, delivered a pre-planned number of 8 overs before departing the field in the post-lunch session because of a hamstring issue. He will have a scan on Friday.
The Wood situation sucked the energy out of the day, as the England Lions were bowled out for three hundred eighty-two on a slow, low surface after an automatic toss at Lilac Hill.
Squad Strategy
The tourists aimed to bowl first to build bowling fitness before the first Ashes Test at Optus Stadium, beginning on November 21st.
In a potential indication towards their first-Test plans, the visiting team selected an fast bowling lineup – four specialists plus Stokes – and left off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in the Lions.
Batting Performance Highlights
Bethell failed to press his case for selection in the Test team, making only two, but Jacks enhanced his credentials to be selected during the series by hitting 84.
Ben McKinney, Cox, teenage Thomas Rew and Potts also scored fifties.
Low-key Atmosphere
The team's plan to play a single warm-up game against the Lions has been questioned by some former players but the captain hit back by calling the critics "past players".
A low-pressure first day in front of a smattering of fans at Lilac Hill was definitely a different experience from what the team will face at a packed Optus Stadium next week.
Captain's Excellent Performance
The captain was excellent in the series against the Indian team in the home summer, only to push himself to injury. He was absent from the final Test with a shoulder tear.
The skipper has not managed a complete participation in any of the team's past four series because of various injuries and the tourists' hopes of winning back the Ashes are vastly diminished if he is absent from any of the five matches in the host country.
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 dismissals were presented.
Will Jacks Strengthens Case
Jacks is unlikely to feature in the opening match – the team look to have shown their hand with the XI selected here. Still, he may have nudged himself ahead of the struggling Jacob Bethell with his eighty-four, which came at nearly run-a-ball pace.
Prior to the concern over Wood, the five seamers in the England XI for this match may not have been the attack for the first Test.
Carse missed the opening day because of illness, with his position going to Tongue. Josh Tongue had Lions opener McKinney caught behind just after lunch.
Although the captain took the scalps, Archer caught the eye. He was lively with the fresh ball and again after the interval, when he discomforted Will Jacks.
In the absence of Shoaib Bashir and with Wood leaving the field, Root was required to bowl fourteen overs of his spin bowling. It was mediocre fare, conceding 117 runs at an run rate of over eight.
Root at least took a scalp in the closing stages when Matt Fisher unexpectedly hit a full delivery to the fielder before Jofra Archer dismissed with a bouncer Matthew Potts for 53 with the last delivery of the day.
