The Ashes: Ben Stokes defends England criticism from ‘has-beens’

In a packed schedule, England have just finished a white-ball series in New Zealand.

Even if they had arranged a string of first-class matches in Australia, their opposition probably would not have been strong, given the ongoing domestic Sheffield Shield competition.

Criticism of England’s preparation has come from former captains Lord Botham, Michael Vaughan and Graham Gooch.

Botham said it “borders on arrogance”, Vaughan called it a “huge risk” and Gooch labelled it “glorified practice”.

“Cricket has changed so much,” said Stokes. “Preparation is nowhere near as simple as it used to be. You could come out on a tour two months before the first game started.

“We’ve been preparing for this tour not over the last three weeks, but putting a lot of thought and process into this for a few years now. I don’t know what else we’re expected to be able to do.

“There are quite a few factors that go into why we can’t prepare how the has-beens maybe prepared in the past. It’s all changed. We’re very comfortable with how we prepare because we leave no stone unturned.”

Stokes, 34, has not played since being ruled out of the final Test against India in the summer.

He was superb in that series before sustaining the injury, which came after he put himself through a heavy bowling workload. Injuries have prevented Stokes from completing any of England’s past four Test series.

However, he has been bowling at full pace in training, which he said he has been doing for two months.

With Australia captain Pat Cummins missing the first Test because of a back injury, the eventual destination of the urn could be influenced by which skipper spends most time on the field, and Stokes said he is in a “good place” to get through the series.

“That’s all I’ve been doing for last three months; making sure I’m fit and strong,” he said.

“When the Test series starts, it’s about being sensible through the rest periods, about how much work I do, because I’ve been building up to get here now.”

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