Stokes says England will be ready for Ashes opener despite lean preparations

Captain Ben Stokes brushed off concerns about England’s Ashes preparations on Wednesday, saying there was no way the squad could prepare in the same way touring teams of the past had, given the demands of the modern game.

England great Ian Botham raised questions on Tuesday about the preparations for the opening Test, which amount to a few days’ squad training followed by an internal match in Perth before the series opener begins in the same city on November 21.

“I don’t really know what we’re supposed to do, to be honest,” Stokes told reporters at Lilac Hill Park, where the internal match will begin on Thursday.

“The schedule is pretty jam packed to be able to sort of prepare how teams probably would have 10, 15, 20, 30 years ago, I think there’s a lot of factors that have changed over the years in cricket.

“We’ve been preparing for this for a very long time. Come the 21st of this month, we know that we would’ve done everything that is possible that we could’ve done to be in the right place to go out there and hopefully start the tour how we want.”

Stokes said he was fit and raring to go with both bat and ball and was particularly looking forward to watching England pacemen Mark Wood and Jofra Archer at work.

“It’s great to have the X factor that Jofra and Woody possess in terms of pace,” he added.

“Woody’s obviously got over his knee surgery that he had quite a while ago. He’s overcome that and he’s looking really, really good. Jofra has been out the park for two and a half years now, so it’s great seeing those two flying in and sending some fastballs down there.”

While much of the focus has been on that duo, Stokes said there was plenty of other fast-bowling talent in the squad.

“It’s not just about pace, it’s about skill,” he said.

“We’re fortunate enough that we’ve got a battery of fast bowlers who not only bowl with good pace, but are also extremely skillful in any conditions.

“We feel that we picked a really, really good, strong bowling group that have complementary skills, that can support each other. It’s going to be tough five games so it’s nice having a battery of fast bowlers to choose from.”

Stokes said he had found the war of words that has already ignited around the series “quite funny” but had also warned some of the less experienced players how challenging it is to play an Ashes series Down Under.

“Coming to Australia for the Ashes is a lot different than anything else …. There’s a lot more that goes on away from the cricket itself,” Stokes said.

“It’s just making everyone aware that’s the case but making sure it’s nothing to be afraid of, nothing to be scared of, and not to shy away from the opportunity that’s in front of us.”