England captain Ben Stokes appears embarrassed by six

Bowlers who take six wickets in an innings would usually class the outing as one of their best.

In the case of England skipper Ben Stokes, who took 6-52 against the England Lions in a tune-up match on Thursday, the performance is one he's likely to forget.

Stokes took the wickets of Tom Haines, Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox, Rehan Ahmed, Will Jacks and Tom Lawes as the Lions amassed 382 off just 79.3 overs.

The tour match, England's sole outing prior to the first Test in Perth, was not televised, and as such, the truth about Stokes' six-wicket haul only came to light once England Cricket's X account began to release highlights of each wicket.

Stokes first removed Haines, the captain of the Lions, with a short delivery as the left-hander miscued a pull shot. The celebration was muted, as you'd expect given this is essentially an intra-squad match.

Next up was Bethell, regarded by many as one of the most promising young batters in England.

Stokes came around the wicket and dug another one in short, Bethell pulled it away and like Haines, hit it straight to a fielder. This time, the Stokes reaction was brilliant, as he rested his head on one hand almost in embarrassment.

The theme continued for Stokes's next wicket as Cox was caught on the boundary pulling another short one from the England captain, before Ahmed fell in virtually identical fashion.

Stokes brought up his five-wicket haul with another short one on leg stump as Lawes was caught by Ollie Pope as he attempted to flick the ball away. Stokes again looked towards one of his fielders in sheer embarrassment.

The best reaction was left until the end as Stokes had Will Jacks caught on the boundary with another short one on the leg side after a well-made 84.

After Jofra Archer took the catch, Stokes again sheepishly celebrated and extended his arms out as if to ask himself how he was getting all these wickets.

The bowling performance from England's vaunted pace attack against a second-string side isn't going to inspire much confidence with the first Test just a week away.

All 10 wickets came via catches, with just two taken by the wicket-keeper Jamie Smith.

Archer, Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue combined for three wickets despite bowling a combined 41.3 overs and conceded roughly four runs an over on a fairly lifeless Lilac Hill pitch.

In what is perhaps a nod to next week's playing XI, England played without a frontline spinner, as Joe Root was used as the spin option.

Root took one wicket, but was hammered at 8.35 runs an over in his 14 overs.

It remains to be seen whether the all-out pace attack's struggles as well as Mark Wood's hamstring niggle causes a re-think for England's brains trust.

Nevertheless, the half-trackers on leg stump approach is unlikely to have much success for Stokes and his men against Australia, even if the home side's batting line-up appears brittle.

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