'It's not the way I would prepare': Sheepish Ben Stokes stars in England's bizarre 'highlights' package

A sheepish Ben Stokes appeared at times embarrassed as he grabbed a six wicket haul in England's much maligned Ashes warmup match.

England captain Stokes was his side's clear bowling standout with figures of 6-52 as the second string Lions posted 382 batting first at Perth's Lilac Hill.

All of Stokes' wickets fell to leg-side catches as Tom Haines, Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox, Rehan Ahmed, Will Jacks and Tom Lawes failed to control their shots.

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Stokes looked incredulous at the manner of some of the dismissals from less than world class deliveries and celebrations were muted to say the least as England builds towards the first Test against Australia from November 21.

The three-day game is not being televised but the 'highlights' package suggests England might look to marry Bazball with Bodyline at Optus Stadium.

England coach Brendon McCullum used Neil Wagner for bouncer barrages when captaining New Zealand and the tourists have plenty of firepower at their disposal.

Cricket writer Bharath Ramaraj noted that the Lilac Hill pitch appeared highly docile compared with an expected spicy surface in the first Test.

Stokes' responses were as short as his bowling after the day's play.

The veteran all-rounder simply said his body was feeling "good" after bowling 16 overs.

England have chosen the low-key warmup match while Australia's Test stars play in a competitive Sheffield Shield.

"It's not the way I would prepare," Sir Ian Botham said.

"I think historically, you have to acclimatise when you come down here and you have to remember there's 24.5 million people you're playing against, not 11...

"I'm worried. We're going to wander in and have a little game with the 'A' team. Not one (state match), which borders on arrogance. You've got to give yourself the chance. They are saying we play too much cricket. I don't think you play enough.

"The conditions are different when you play cricket in Australia: the sun, the heat, the bounce, the crowd, the Aussie players, you've got to get used to all that. You're not playing against the Australian cricket team, you're playing against Australia – 24.5 million people."

England got off to a quick start with the bat against the Lions, with Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley reaching 0-53 from the first 10 overs on Friday.