Persistent James Anderson was rewarded with four reassuring wickets after rookie opener Josh Philippe put England under unexpected pressure at the WACA.
Tour match scoreboard
Match drawn
England 1st inns: 349-6 (Stoneman 85, Vince 82, Malan 56, Ballance 51; Hardie 2-46)
Western Australia XI 1st inns: 342-10 (Philippe 88, Hinchliffe 75; Anderson 4-27, Overton 2-70, Crane 2-75)
Day two report
Persistent James Anderson was rewarded with four reassuring wickets after rookie opener Josh Philippe put England under unexpected pressure at the WACA.
Philippe (88) climbed into a succession of impressive drives, and even briefly threatened a century before lunch as Anderson (four for 27) and Stuart Broad failed to find much movement with the new ball on the second and final day of this tour-opening fixture against a Western Australia XI.
Twenty-year-old Philippe and Clint Hinchliffe, 21, are both still awaiting first-class debuts but each passed 50, the former signalling his significant potential with 16 fours from 92 balls.
Mason Crane had Philippe stumped charging his fourth delivery after lunch, though, and Anderson produced second and third spells of 5-2-9-2 and 3-3-0-2 - including two wickets in three balls, then two in four - as the second-string hosts reached 338 all out in reply to 349 for six declared.
Joe Root ran through seven bowling options - including a fruitless three-over spell of his own - and all appeared in need of the acclimatisation, none more so than Broad who finished with figures of one for 64 in 13 overs on a typically true surface.
Philippe, who made two appearances for Durham 2nd XI last summer, dominated an opening stand of 80 alongside Jake Carder, and completed his 45-ball half-century with successive boundaries off Craig Overton.
Chris Woakes had Carder dropped high to his left by Jonny Bairstow, but it was not a costly mistake because the left-hander mis-hooked to fine-leg at the other end to give Overton his first England wicket.
It was not until the introduction of Jake Ball and Crane up to lunch that the flow of runs stalled - and the third-change seamer would have got Philippe for 72 had second slip Root managed to hold a two-handed chance above his head which instead flew away for another boundary.
Philippe then fell straight after lunch, and the return of Anderson soon paid further dividends.
Movement in the air brought his first two quick wickets, both caught-behind via the outside edge of left-hander Nick Hobson and the inside of Will Bosisto.
That left WA 161 for four, but Tim David and Hinchliffe proved there was some depth in the home resources with a spirited stand of 81 until the former paid for getting greedy against Crane - and James Vince held a well-judged catch at deep mid-off.
Anderson was back again to end Hinchliffe's 102-ball stay, caught at cover, and England's all-time leading wicket-taker doubled up once more when Nathan Coulter-Nile edged a cut behind.
England judged, rightly on the available evidence, that they needed extra practice with ball rather than bat - and WA compliantly agreed to continue their innings, irrespective of how many wickets fell before the close.
Bosisto and Aaron Hardie were therefore granted second chances as England put more miles into their seamers.
Broad's evening spell with a second new ball brought him a wicket at last just before stumps when Hardie edged to second slip in a match which, for the record, officially ended in a draw.
Day two reaction
England bowler James Anderson: On the new-ball effort: "I think you could probably see from the first session we were rusty ... that was pretty obvious.
"We didn't get it right at all.
"(But) we've got two first-class games coming up that we want to be fit for, and get those cobwebs out."
- On his own performance: "I didn't have much rhythm first up.
"It didn't feel great, and there wasn't much swing either with the new ball.
"But then I thought I got better as the day went on, and most of the bowlers would probably say the same ... I thought we gradually got there in the end."
- On new-ball partner Stuart Broad: "There's going to be guys that are more rusty than others.
"I thought Broady bowled a really good spell with the (second) new ball, at the back end there – and that spell at 5 or 530 in the afternoon can be just as crucial as the ones first thing in the morning.
"So getting used to coming back and bowling those spells is really useful for us."
Day one report
England lost two Test lynchpins cheaply but had the significant consolation of confidence-boosting half-centuries for four others as they kickstarted their Ashes tour in Perth.
Alastair Cook went for a duck to the second ball of the two-day fixture against a Western Australia XI at the WACA - and, after winning the toss in glorious conditions, Joe Root could muster just nine off 22 balls.
But Cook's opening partner Mark Stoneman (85) and prospective Test number three James Vince (82) shared a second-wicket stand of 153, and then middle-order hopefuls Dawid Malan (56) and Gary Ballance (51) also gave themselves a foothold on tour in a total of 349 for six.
The inexperienced home attack put in a patchy performance, serving up plenty of early four balls, and the hosts dropped five catches too.
But the bowling improved after lunch as fourth-change Aaron Hardie belatedly got his rewards with the wickets of Vince and Root in the same over.
Cook's tour got off to a false start when he edged behind on the back foot off Nathan Coulter-Nile, and he therefore has no runs from his last two innings in just three balls at this ground - dating back to his Test match golden duck against a rampant Ryan Harris four years ago.
Once Test hopeful Coulter-Nile's four-over new-ball spell was done, there was extra reason for Cook's regrets as the hosts unveiled a succession of raw seamers - and England's only other morning blip came when a direct-hit from cover would have run Vince out for only three.
It took until the eighth over for Stoneman to straight-drive the first boundary of England's tour, but soon he and Vince were feeding off regular loose deliveries.
The latter was especially strong off the back foot through the off-side but was dropped three times - on 47, 63 and 67 - twice at slip by Coulter-Nile off Hardie and Lance Morris, then from a fierce pull at Mark Turner.
By then he had posted his 50 from 64 balls, the same number taken by Stoneman, who was dropped at gully on 54 off Hardie.
Coulter-Nile had used eight bowling options before lunch, but it was only in the second session that the home attack began to click.
Morris had Stoneman edging an off-drive to slip, and then Hardie took two wickets in five balls.
Vince clipped one low to mid-wicket - and, after Malan got off the mark with an emphatic off-driven four first ball, Hardie had Root caught behind.
The England captain, who had been made to work hard for his runs, departed with a look of disbelief after the ball appeared to hit his back thigh pushing forward - and maybe took an edge too.
The scene was therefore set for a private 'bat-off' between number five aspirants Malan and Ballance - and neither did his prospects any harm in a century partnership before both retired out an hour before stumps.
Malan was the most convincing in his chanceless 50, while Ballance was dropped at slip off Hardie on 36 on his way to a 98-ball half-century which he completed with a lofted straight-drive for his sixth four off leg-spinner Kyle Gardner.
Day one reaction
England batsman Mark Stoneman: On James Vince: "We're roomies as well this week in Perth, so we had a good bit of banter out there.
"Partnerships are going to be key for us throughout this tour, so we've started off with some good habits today.
"Momentum is massive in any sport, and if you get off on the right note to any tour you can hope to snowball that."
- On Alastair Cook's dismissal: "It wasn't the ideal start, but it was a decent one to get second ball first time (back) in a game situation.
"It isn't a good thing that they missed out ... but it's a bit of a lesser blow to two guys who have such phenomenal records in Test cricket and know their games inside out."
