England captain Ben Stokes is confident he can manage a gruelling workload during the Ashes having bowled at intensity over the past two months. He will make his return to competitive cricket in a three-game intrasquad game with England Lions starting on Thursday, urging England's players to go "balls to the wall" in their sole warm-up ahead of the first Test.

There has been uncertainty over the fitness of Stokes, who has been sidelined since late July with a shoulder injury. But he has been bowling flat out at England's training sessions at Lilac Hill, a suburban ground in Perth's outskirts that once hosted light-hearted 50-over games for touring teams.

"I've been bowling like that for two months now," Stokes said. "It was nice to put the feet up but once the rehab started, I've hit t

See Full Page