England have defended their limited Ashes preparation ahead of the start of their warm-up game against the Lions at Lilac Hill in Perth on Thursday. The three-day match-up is England's only match practice ahead of next Friday's first Test at Optus Stadium, which assistant coach Marcus Trescothick described as "the way of the modern game".

Ashes tours have historically started with a series of warm-up fixtures between travelling squads and either domestic or invitational teams, but they have been greatly reduced in recent series as boards look to streamline schedules.

England have largely eschewed warm-up fixtures since Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes took over as head coach and captain, preferring training camps and intra-squad matches, but have generally started series strongly. T

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