Ben Stokes has shrugged off criticism of England’s low-key Ashes preparation by claiming they will go ‘balls to the wall’ in their warm-up match against England Lions.
Former Ashes hero Ian Botham is amongst those to be critical of a build-up that includes just one three-day fixture versus the country’s second-string team ahead of next week’s first Test at the Optus Stadium here in Perth – an approach the all-time great said ‘borders on arrogance’.
Speaking to the media on the eve of the non first-class fixture at Lilac Hill, Stokes said: ‘The next three days is balls to the wall for everyone. No easing into it.
‘We’ve got nine days until that first Test match. So a lot of things can happen. But this will be a nice opportunity to allow everyone from our squad that we’ve chosen to be able to get some time in the middle.’
England gathered on the west coast of Australia this week from various destinations, with a chunk of players coming from the white-ball tour of New Zealand, some from family breaks and others arriving alongside the 18-strong Lions group shadowing this tour.
It is a far cry from the victorious 2010-11 Ashes tour when England went into the series on the back of three first-class wins.
Ben Stokes (pictured in Perth on Wednesday) has rejected criticism that England’s build-up for the first Test on November 21 will leave the team underprepared
England’s build-up includes just one three-day fixture versus the country’s second-string team – but Stokes said comparisons to preparations for previous tours don’t hold any weight
Ashes legend Ian Botham said of the Three Lions’ plans, ‘It’s not the way I would prepare’
Botham’s 1986-87 vintage also took on state sides prior to claiming the urn and of the minimalistic approach this time, he said: ‘It’s not the way I would prepare.’
However, Stokes retorted: ‘Cricket’s changed so much and preparation is nowhere near as simple as it used to be. You used to be able to come out on a tour a month-and-a-half, two months before the first game started.
‘Now there’s so much cricket packed into the schedule it’s impossible to do it how it used to be done.
‘But we’ve not been preparing for this tour not over the last three weeks, we’ve put a lot of thought and process into this for a few years now.
‘So I don’t know what else we’re expected to do? There’s Sheffield Shield cricket on at the moment so who would we play against?
‘We’re about to go out and face a team who have got a mix between our squad and also the next best players in England.
‘So there’s a quite a few factors that go play into the whole of why we can’t prepare how the has-beens maybe prepared in the past. The landscape of cricket has changed.
‘But we are very confident and very comfortable with how we prepare because we leave no stone unturned.’
England will name their strongest XI for the match, which will see Mark Wood – England’s leading wicket-taker on their last tour here four years ago – play for the first time in eight months following knee surgery.
Stokes is also expected to feature in full all-rounder capacity, reporting that he has been bowling at full tilt for the best part of two months.
