Since the five Tests against India, England have played six ODIs and five T20Is so far.
The Ashes 2025 build-up has started buzzing with the series opener set to unfold at the Optus Stadium on November 21. Several former players from both sides have shared their respective opinions, predictions and advice before the highly anticipated red-ball rubber between the two arch-rivals.
Amidst this, England captain Ben Stokes has responded to the criticism over the visitors’ lack of preparation for the prestigious event.
The current skipper has hit back at the former captain Graham Gooch’s statements on the lack of match practice ahead of the marquee series. Notably, England will be entering the Ashes 2025 after taking on India for five Tests at home in August.
This will also mark the return of the 34-year-old, who had previously missed participating in the fifth and final fixture of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy due to a shoulder injury. However, the batter emphasised how the congested cricketing schedule has made it difficult for the players nowadays to create room for extensive preparations ahead of such high-magnitude clashes.
“Cricket’s changed so much and preparation is nowhere near as simple as it used to be. 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,” he stressed in pre-series conference.
But coming on the back of three successive series sweeps on Australian soil in the format, the England captain is confident before boarding the flight. Stokes is hopeful that their three-day warm-up fixture against the England Lions would help the visitors to adapt to the conditions down under before the first Test in Perth.
“We’ve been preparing for this tour not over the last three weeks, we’ve put a lot of thought and process into this for a few years now. So I don’t know what else we’re expected to do? There’s [Sheffield] Shield cricket on at the moment so who would we play against?” added Stokes.
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Previously, the former England captain Graham Gooch had voiced his frustration over England not engaging in any red-ball fixtures prior to the Ashes 2025. According to the former batter, the side should have played the top Test nations before reaching Australia. However, since the India series, England have played six ODIs and five T20Is so far.
“I don’t get why you have that New Zealand series there. You want to prepare for the Ashes. We have a great chance this time, especially if we do well in the first Test, but you need to immerse yourself in Australia-style cricket first by playing that type of hard-nosed game against sides that want to turn you over,” Gooch spoke to Telegraph Sport.
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