How long any truce lasts remains to be seen but it’s a positive step given the tenuous moral and ethical ground on which both camps have trod over recent times.

Woakes wasn’t on the field when England could finally stretch their legs in Brisbane on Thursday,enjoying a break in the weather to start their intra-squad match at Ian Healy Oval.

He maintains he can play in the same team as star all-rounder Ben Stokes as the tourists prepare to finalise their side for the first of five Tests,which looks certain to be hit by more bad weather if the forecast is accurate.

“We’ve played in the same team before. Ben is a world-class cricketer and he is in any XI in the world. But I certainly feel we can play in the same team,” Woakes said.

Frontline quicks Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad were part of the England stars getting some vital overs in on Thursday after their first tour match was washed out last week,with Woakes saying no amount of indoor net practice could replicate completive cricket on the centre square.

It was also a welcome chance to experiment with the Kookaburra ball,which remains a teething problem for England early in tours as they try to make it bend like their more familiar Duke ball.

“The Kooka is very different to the Duke back home,” Woakes said. “We’ve got a lot of experience in guys that have played all around the world and used the Kookaburra quite a bit. I think it’s trying to experiment with different things;trying to get the ball to move sideways is probably the biggest thing here.”

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