Ben Stokes dismisses criticism of Ashes preparations from ‘has-beens’

Ben Stokes has brushed off criticism from “has-beens” over England’s Ashes preparations, insisting this week’s in-house warm-up will be a full-on “balls to the wall” affair.

A three-day clash against England Lions XI, starting at Perth’s Lilac Hill outground on Thursday, represents the only tour game before the first Test on November 21, a decision which has generated plenty of heat.

Former players from both sides of the divide have had their say, with Lord Botham and Michael Vaughan among those to question the light run-in from an English perspective.

Ex-Australia opener Simon Katich joined the chorus on Wednesday, telling the West Australian newspaper the schedule was “asking for trouble”.

But England skipper Stokes gave the idea short shrift in his first public appearance of the trip.

“The next three days is balls to the wall for everyone. No easing into it. There’ll be a good run out for everyone,” he said.

“We’ve not been preparing for this tour over the last three weeks, we’ve put a lot of thought and process into this for a few years now.

“There’s quite a few factors that play into why we can’t prepare how the has-beens maybe prepared in the past. The landscape of cricket has changed and that affects preparation and how you are able to do it. But we are very confident and very comfortable with how we prepare because we leave no stone unturned.

“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.”

Stokes pointed out that the ongoing round of Sheffield Shield matches meant leading domestic players would not have been available as opponents, leading England to conclude that an internal match would be their best alternative.

They plan to play an authentic 11 versus 11 contest, meaning up to five of the Test squad will be reallocated to Andrew Flintoff’s Lions side.

While there may be some hints about the preferred line-up for the series opener across the city at Optus Stadium, there could also be an element of mixing and matching the teamsheets.

Stokes was circumspect on the pecking order, but did appear to suggest that the close-run battle between Ollie Pope and rising star Jacob Bethell for the number three spot will go all the way to the wire.

“Popey has done a great job for us at number three. He is the man in possession,” Stokes offered.

“But there’s nine days to go and there is a lot of things that can go right and a lot of things that can go wrong, so we will have a team from one day or two days out as normal. This will be a nice opportunity to allow everyone from our squad to get some time in the middle.”

The game will be Stokes’ first competitive action since he tore his shoulder muscle playing against India in July and pace bowler Mark Wood’s comeback after almost nine months out following knee surgery.

Stokes was welcomed to Australia with a front page headline branding him “Captain Cocky Complainer”, with the local media continuing to take pot shots at him and his team-mates in subsequent days.

He smiled at the treatment, adding: “I think the build-up is always hyped up and it always gets quite spicy the closer you get to the opening game.

“I think we just let the outside people have those war of words. It’s been quite funny to see what’s been coming out recently.”

Former England captain Michael Vaughan said “there has rightly been much focus on England’s preparation” but it can only be judged when the upcoming tour is over.

But Vaughan, who plundered 633 runs during the 4-1 Ashes defeat Down Under in 2002-3 before leading his team to victory on home soil in the 2005 series, said England’s “has-beens” deserve respect.

He said in the Daily Telegraph: “Supporters have to trust that England know what they are doing and that this method will bring results, even if it is anathema to many.

“Equally, England have to accept that there will be scrutiny. Just because the ‘has-beens’ have a different view does not mean these are not valid comments. England should respect those views. They’re coming from legends of the game.”