Ben Stokes starred on the first day of England's only Ashes warm-up fixture against the Lions, taking six wickets among some notable performances from the development side.
England selected what could well be the team currently on their sheet for the first Test match in just over a week's time, to face an opposition made up of the rest of the senior squad and seven players drawn from the Lions group. Jacob Bethell batted at No.3 for the Lions while Pope was his opposite number, with Will Jacks, Matthew Potts and Shoaib Bashir the other Ashes squad members in that XI. Brydon Carse is also slated to bowl for the Lions side, but is battling illness and did not bat during their innings on day one.
England Lions team: Ben McKinney, Tom Haines (c), Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox, Rehan Ahmed, Will Jacks, Thomas Rew (wk), Tom Lawes, Matthew Potts, Matthew Fisher Shoaib Bashir, Brydon Carse, Mitchell Stanley
England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Josh Tongue
The Lions side were bowled out for 382 in 79.3 overs, with Will Jacks making a near run-a-ball 84 to top score. Stokes finished the day with six wickets, while Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue and Joe Root took one apiece. England suffered an injury scare, with Mark Wood set to undergo a precautionary scan after he left the field with hamstring tightness.
Stokes and Jacks the senior squad standouts
The obvious scorecard standout was Ben Stokes, who finished the innings with figures of 6-52. While it's hard to pick a standout from his wickets, which were exclusively picked up via catches taken on the leg side, his fitness to get through 16 overs is encouraging. Having missed the final Test of the summer injured, and been unable to bowl at points over the last three years, at this point Stokes' body seems fighting fit. That could provide England with great options if his fitness holds once the series starts – whether to use Stokes as a fourth seamer to fit in a spinner, or to be able to rely on him to bend his back late in the day with an old ball.
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The other standout was Will Jacks, who marmalised Joe Root as the only spin option in the senior side to score rapidly coming in at 168-4. Jacks was the surprise call-up to the Ashes squad, having not played a Test match since the two he played in Pakistan in 2022. Again, Jacks was the flexibility choice. With uncertainty over how Shoaib Bashir will fare with a Kookaburra ball in Australian conditions, Jacks offered a spin option while packing the batting lineup. How he performs with the bat is likely the more important consideration than how he goes with the ball, and a quick-fire 84 today will have helped his case.
Equally, England didn't select Bashir in their senior XI, giving a clear hint that they're thinking about going into the first Test without a specialist spinner. However, Root being smashed, and Wood being unable to bowl, shows the dangers of that bowling attack balance. Depending on how their top six go when given their chance in this game, Jacks' performance today could be the most consequential for first Test selection.
Matthew Potts was the other senior squad member to pass 50, batting at No.9 and coming in at 311-7. Potts' domestic returns with the bat have improved since he was first called-up for England's Test side in 2022. He made his maiden first-class hundred in 2024 and made important contributions in Durham's lower-order this year. The potential of lower-order contributions from Potts would be welcome.
Lions first string make their cases
Outside of the Ashes squad, there were some notable performances from those drafted in from the Lions. Ben McKinney scored 67 opening alongside Tom Haines. McKinney has had previous success in Australia, having scored a century for the Lions against Australia A earlier this year. Following that innings, he was backed as England's next Test opener by Graeme Swann. While Zak Crawley is nailed on to start the series, should his position unravel over the course of the series, McKinney's innings today strengthened his standing as the next opener in the ranks.
There were also half-centuries for Thomas Rew and Jordan Cox. At 17 years old, Rew was selected to keep wicket for the Lions XI over his older brother James, who is also in the Lions squad. Despite being yet to make his first-class debut, Rew has impressed for England U19s and Somerset this year, and being given the gloves over his brother is an interesting glimpse into England's line of thinking. Ollie Pope is England's only keeping option behind Jamie Smith in the Ashes squad, but if Smith picks up an injury and England don't want to disrupt the order of their top six, they will have to draw from the Lions.
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