England captain Ben Stokes has dismissed criticism of his team's truncated Ashes preparation, labelling former players who questioned the schedule as 'has-beens'. The full England squad only arrived in Perth on Tuesday, less than two weeks before the first Test at Perth Stadium on November 21.
Stokes's side will play a three-day warm-up match against an England Lions XI starting Thursday, after a limited-overs tour of New Zealand. Some ex-players, including Ian Botham, have questioned the lack of longer preparation. But Stokes defended the planning, saying the team has been preparing for years, not just weeks.
'I don't know what else we're expected to be able to do. There's Shield cricket going on at the moment, so who would we play against?' Stokes told reporters. 'There's quite a few factors that play into why we can't prepare how the has-beens have maybe prepared in the past.'
Stokes also backed Joe Root to overcome his poor record in Australia, where he has never scored a Test century in 14 matches. 'He's the greatest English batter the nation's seen,' Stokes said. 'He's not come out here to score a 100 in Australia, he's come out here to contribute to the team.'
England will face a Prime Minister's XI in Canberra during the gap between the first and second Tests. Stokes urged his team not to be daunted by the Ashes atmosphere, saying they should embrace the occasion.
