Just three of England's men's Ashes squad will join the Lions to play in the Prime Minster's XI fixture in Canberra, with only Jacob Bethell , Matthew Potts and Josh Tongue dropping in for the two-day match which begins on Saturday.

The trio were unused for the first Test in Perth, with Bethell and Potts playing for the Lions against a Cricket Australia XI, which ran parallel to the Ashes opener. Both matches started on Friday, but the match at Lilac Hill ended up running twice as long. However, it concluded on Monday with an identical result; a dominant eight-wicket win by the home team, led by a glitzy century from Josh Inglis , opening the batting in the Travis Head role.

That England are not sending their 'starters' to Canberra will draw scorn, with many pundits already

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