Richard Mann assesses the progress of England Lions on their tour of Australia

When Australian captain Tim Paine lifted the Ashes aloft on the turf of Old Trafford Cricket Ground last September, the cold realisation for English cricket fans was that we were in for a long wait to reclaim that famous little urn.

With the Ashes gone for two years at least, and the prospect of an away series in Australia affording the hosts and their battery of big, bruising fast bowlers the perfect environment to heap yet more misery on their visitors, the inevitable doom and gloom seen across media outlets and on social media was understandable.

The World Cup victory on that pulsating afternoon at Lord's had, momentarily at least, been forgotten while Ben Stokes' Headingley heroics in the third Test had seemingly been for nothing.

However, for all the prospect of an Ashes tour of Australia is always a daunting one, England's recent victory in South Africa offered genuine hope for the future with the much-maligned batting unit finally starting to gel and Mark Wood and Jofra Archer adding some desperately-needed pace to the bowling attack.

With the future already brighter than six months ago, coach Chris Silverwood and captain Joe Root have every reason to be optimistic, but the puzzle is far from complete and both will know that the final pieces of the jigsaw will need to be added between now and 2021.

Those remaining pieces will likely come from county cricket, so often criticised but the school at which recent success stories Rory Burns, Dom Sibley and Ollie Pope have studied, eventually forcing their way into England reckoning.

However, a damp Thursday morning facing the Dukes ball on a green seamer in Birmingham is unlikely to prepare any aspiring Ashes contender for what lies ahead Down Under and as such, the ongoing England Lions tour of Australia takes on extra significance.

It seems fair to assume that those to have been selected for that tour have already been earmarked for future international honours, a mixture of exciting young talent and proven county performers with strong records and England ambitions burning bright.

These are the players who selectors Ed Smith and James Taylor believe could force their way into the Ashes picture in two years' time and help add the finishing touches to a side that has flattered to deceive too many times in the past.

So far, the signs have been very good with the Lions winning the five-match unofficial ODI series 3-0 - two matches were abandoned without a ball being bowled - with a mixture aggressive and smart cricket that saw them beat Cricket Australia XI on two occasions and New South Wales XI once.

England came up against plenty of names who will be familiar with fans of the Big Bash in that series - the likes of Daniel Sams, Cameron Boyce, Will Pucovski and Max Bryant - before dominating a high-scoring draw in the first unofficial Test in Hobart last week.

With an eye on the forthcoming tour of Sri Lanka, Keaton Jennings' first-innings 141 will have been a shot in the arm for his backers while Dom Sibley backed up his impressive showing in South Africa with another century.

Neither Jennings nor Sibley have many secrets from the England selectors, with the latter appearing locked in for the near future at least, but more encouraging have been the performances of Dan Lawrence and Mason Crane.

Lawrence has been the star of the tour so far, the all-rounder excelling in the ODI series by claiming six wickets with the ball and registering scores of 50*, 35 and 41 with the bat.

The Essex man built on that when making a brilliant 190 in the opening Test before picking up another three wickets with his ever-evolving off spin, his efforts earning him the Man of the Match award and suggesting England might well have unearthed another all-rounder for the future.

Lawrence has cut his teeth with county champions Essex, cementing his spot in a strong batting line-up at number four, and with the likes of Sir Alastair Cook and Tom Westley close by to offer a helping hand, there is no reason why 2020 shouldn't see him enjoy another fruitful summer to further push his case for international honours.

As Ben Stokes has shown so many times before, batting all-rounders are like gold dust and should his battered and bruised body finally give way between now and Australia, England will need to have all angles covered in such a pivotal position.

At only 22 years of age, Lawrence certainly has time on his side and is perfectly placed to ensure his name remains firmly in the selection hat.

England's last Ashes tour of Australian was memorable for many reasons, not least the debut handed to leg-spinner Mason Crane who was drafted into the side for the fifth and final Test at Sydney.

Crane's first taste of Test cricket was certainly a tough one, match figures of 1-193 leaving him under no illusions about the work still to be done on his bowling, but he wouldn't be the first wrist spinner to need time and a number of injuries since have held back his progress.

But, like Lawrence, he remains a young man with a bright future and the 23-year-old showed up very well in the three ODI matches earlier in the tour, his five wickets reward for impressive control to accompany his usual aggression.

Bowling in Australia can be a thankless task for finger spinners and with Adil Rashid seemingly out of the Test picture once more, don't rule out the possibility of Crane returning to Australia in 2021 as the x-factor in a spin bowling group that is still searching for someone to fill the shoes left by Graeme Swann.

With Rory Burns ruled out of the Sri Lanka series with injury, Jennings and Zak Crawley have another match to showcase their talents in Australia and the speculation around Joe Denly's place at number three in the England side will certainly encourage both.

Once Burns returns to full fitness, Crawley and Jennings will likely be eyeing up Denly's spot while another man who won't have given up hope of winning his maiden England Test cap is Sam Northeast.

The Hamsphire man will be 32 by the time of the next Ashes, experienced enough to cope with the inevitable noise that comes with a series as big as this one but still young enough to enjoy a significant international career.

Northeast was one of the most consistent performers in county cricket over the past decade and knocked on the door of 1000 runs again last year, pushing his first-class career average close to 40, numbers far superior to those boasted by the likes of Denly or Jennings.

Despite not being named in the squad to face Sri Lanka, Jonny Bairstow won't have given up hope of returning to the England Test team either, and should Denly and Jennings struggle on that tour, the likes of him and Northeast will know that the selection door could quickly open again.

An unbeaten second-innings 46 in Hobart again showcased Northeast's talents and he, along with many of his Lions teammates, will no doubt be keen to make a big statement in the next few weeks.