England will play only one intra-squad game.
Legendary all-rounder Ian Botham has expressed concerns about the lack of preparation and unpreparedness for England ahead of Ashes 2025. The team opted to play just one game against the travelling England Lions at Lilac Hill and prepare within the group rather than playing against Australia A sides.
However, Botham feels that no fixture against the opponent’s state teams will mean England are not used to the conditions and the opposition. Countering the team’s argument that they play enough cricket, the 67-year-old, speaking on the Old Boys, New Balls podcast, went on to say that not having even one state game shows their arrogance.
“I’m worried. We’re going to wander in and have a little game with the ‘A’ team. Not one (state match), which borders on arrogance. They are saying we play too much cricket. I don’t think you play enough. The conditions are different when you play cricket in Australia: the sun, the heat, the bounce, the crowd, the Aussie players; you’ve got to get used to all that.”
Botham also issued a caution to England’s fast-bowling stocks, which have several injury-prone players like Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, and even Ben Stokes himself. He feels that bowlers don’t get fit by hitting the gym and need to play as much as possible to maintain their fitness levels.
While Botham’s concerns are understandable, England are not doing anything different to other teams on this Australia tour, as most teams have stopped playing against their state sides and prefer playing intra-squad games. For instance, India played an intra-squad match behind closed doors on their last tour, with most main players not featuring in the India A matches.
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The most prominent reason for England not playing against the opponent’s teams is their tight schedule leading up to the Ashes 2025. Currently, they are involved in a white-ball rubber against New Zealand away from home, which begins later this week and will run until November 1.
By the time this tour ends, England will have played as many as 36 matches across formats this year, including 16 away from home. Most of England’s Test players are part of the rubber, with those missing either nursing injuries or keeping themselves fresh for the red-ball run.
Hence, once this series ends, they would definitely want to preserve their energy and go into the Ashes as fresh as possible. Maybe that’s not ideal for such a big rubber, but modern-day cricket hardly provides breathing space for all-format players, and England will want to avoid any injuries before the start.
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