England captain Ben Stokes responds to criticism from 'has-beens' and vows side will be ready for first Ashes 2025 Test against Australia
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Updated 13/11/2025 at 17:54 GMT
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Ben Stokes has said England have left "no stone unturned" in their preparations to face Australia amid criticism that they will arrive at the first Test undercooked from a lighter build-up schedule to previous tours. A three-day clash against the England Lions starting on Thursday is their only tour fixture before the first Test on November 21 in Perth, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
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Ben Stokes has dismissed criticism from "has-beens" over England’s Ashes preparations, insisting this week's in-house warm-up match will be a full-throttle contest.
England’s only tour fixture before the first Ashes Test on November 21, live on TNT Sports and discovery+, is a three-day clash against the England Lions at Perth’s Lilac Hill starting on Thursday.
The preparation has drawn scrutiny from former players who believe the schedule leaves too little time to acclimatise.
Legends from both sides have weighed in, with Ian Botham and Michael Vaughan questioning the light build-up, while ex-Australia opener Simon Katich told The West Australian the plan was "asking for trouble."
But Stokes, speaking publicly for the first time on tour, brushed off the criticism.
"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.
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"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 explained that England’s decision to stage an internal warm-up rather than a traditional tour match was driven by practical realities, noting that the current round of Sheffield Shield fixtures meant top Australian domestic players were unavailable as opposition.
As a result, England concluded that an in-house game would be the best way to fine-tune their preparations.
The plan is to stage an 11 v 11 match with as many as five members of the Test squad set to feature for Andrew Flintoff’s Lions side. While the match may offer a few clues about England’s preferred line-up for the series opener across town at Perth’s Optus Stadium, there is also expected to be some mixing and matching between the teams.
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Stokes was careful not to reveal too much about selection plans, though he did hint that the battle for the No. 3 spot - between Ollie Pope and promising youngster Jacob Bethell - remains finely balanced.
"Popey has done a great job for us at No. 3. He is the man in possession," Stokes said.
"But there are nine days to go, and there are 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 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 warm-up match will also mark Ben Stokes’ long-awaited return to competitive action, his first outing since tearing a shoulder muscle against India in July. It will likewise see fast bowler Mark Wood make his comeback after nearly nine months on the sidelines following knee surgery.
Stokes' arrival in Australia was greeted in typically combative fashion by the local press, with one front page labelling him 'Captain Cocky Complainer'. The England captain has since faced a steady stream of jibes from sections of the Australian media, but he appeared unfazed by the attention.
"I think the build-up is always hyped up, and it always gets quite spicy the closer you get to the opening game," he said with a grin.
"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."
Watch every ball of The 2025/26 Ashes live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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