England captain Ben Stokes announced his readiness for the Ashes with four wickets on the first day of their in-house warm-up against Andrew Flintoff’s Lions.
Stokes has not played since July, when he tore a shoulder muscle against India, but proved he is firmly on track for the opening Test by leading the attack at Lilac Hill.
He took two wickets in each of the first two sessions as he claimed four for 45 in 12 overs, with Josh Tongue the only other bowler to strike as the second string reached 208 for five at tea.
Stokes has been subjected to a stream of barbs from the local media since touching down in Perth but offered a reminder of his threat, dismissing Tom Haines, Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox and Rehan Ahmed in a pair of robust spells.
Bethell dragged a short ball to square leg having scored just two off 17 balls and looks increasingly unlikely to unseat Ollie Pope from the number three slot. After a lean white-ball tour of New Zealand, Bethell needed to make a statement to up the pressure on the incumbent and was unable to deliver.
There were runs to be had on an outground offering generous bounce but modest pace, with Durham opener Ben McKinney making 67 before nicking Tongue just after lunch and Cox posting a lively 53.
Cox and Ahmed both shovelled Stokes bouncers to fine-leg as the all-rounder showed his ability to force the breakthroughs that Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood were unable to.
Wood got through two brisk four-over spells in his first appearance in nine months but left the field before the tea break, with Bethell crossing sides to deputise in the field.
England left spinner Shoaib Bashir out of their XI, in a possible nod towards their intentions for the first Test, but he will get the chance to impress when the Lions bowl in the second innings.
PA
