Ian Botham fires new salvo at England’s lack of Ashes preparations

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Ian Botham has launched a fresh broadside at the decision by England to arrange just a single intra-squad match before the start of the Ashes, saying the tourists need more red ball practice in Australia and time to get used to local crowds.The last group of England’s players only arrived in Perth on Sunday, less than two weeks before the start of the first Test on 21 November.England will play the Lions on Thursday in their only Ashes warm-up.The former all-rounder questioned the decision.“Well, it’s not the way I would prepare,” he said, speaking in Melbourne on Tuesday to announce a ticket ballot for the 150th anniversary Test at the MCG in 2027.

Ahead of the last Ashes tour in 2021 England played two intra-squad matches in Brisbane, but in 2017 there was a more expansive schedule including four matches against local sides.The tourists failed to win a Test in either series.Although a contracted lead-in has become common under coach Brendan McCullum, Botham said in a podcast last month that this tour’s programme “borders on arrogance”.“Historically you have to acclimatise when you come down here,” he said on Tuesday.“You’ve got to remember there’s 24 and a half million people you’re playing against.

”Australia’s population is now close to 28 million, but just one will get to partner Usman Khawaja at the top of the order.Botham said it shouldn’t be Marnus Labuschagne, but the man the selectors choose – or have already chosen – must be informed as early as possible.“The longer they keep the other lad knowing who’s going to be opening will work in favour of the bowlers,” he said.“You need to settle players at the top, and I’d leave [Labuschagne] at three.”Greg Chappell, who captained Australia to victory against England in the 1977 Centenary Test, said the selectors shouldn’t underestimate the value of having a specialist opener.

Sign up to The SpinSubscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week’s actionafter newsletter promotion“I hope the powers that be know who their first choice opener alongside Khawaja is because I think it’s an important role, it always has been an important role,” he said,Specialist opener Jake Weatherald has been named in the Australian squad, but he has not yet been confirmed in the XI for Perth,Chief selector George Bailey said last week No 3 batters also have the “capability” to open the batting, including Labuschagne,Chappell questioned that logic,“Opening is a role that I think you need to want to do, and most openers are pretty passionate about getting in there and batting first,” he said.

“It’s not a matter of, well, ‘we’ll pick our No 3 batsman to go and open’ because Ian [Chappell] batted No 3 for Australia, Ricky Pointing batted No 3 for Australia, I’m not sure they would have been as good as openers because it wasn’t their passion to open the batting.”The first Test begins at Optus Stadium in Perth on 21 November.
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Helen Goh’s recipe for pear, chocolate and hazelnut torte | The sweet spot

Unlike lighter, flour-based cakes, tortes are traditionally rich and dense. Often made with ground nuts instead of flour, this gives them a fudgy, moist texture. Here, ripe pears sink gently into a dark chocolate and hazelnut batter, with the flavours of vanilla, almond and cardamom subtly enhancing the depth of the chocolate and teasing out the fruit’s perfume.Prep 10 min Cook 1 hr 15 min, plus cooling Serves 8-10150g blanched hazelnuts 200g dark chocolate (about 70% cocoa), roughly chopped150g unsalted butter, cubed150g soft brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract ½ tsp almond extract 4 large eggs, separated¼ tsp fine sea salt ¾ tsp ground cardamom (from the seeds of 12-18 pods)2 small ripe pears (conference, williams), peeled, quartered and cored To finishIcing sugar, for dusting Creme fraiche or ice-cream, to serveHeat the oven to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5, and line the base and sides of a 23cm springform cake tin with baking paper.Put the hazelnuts on a small baking tray and toast in the oven for five to eight minutes, until light golden and fragrant

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Jimi Famurewa’s recipe for Marmite and leek homity pie

The first time I encountered homity pie was in a disused train carriage. It was Deptford market in the late 2000s: a reliably chaotic, noisy morass of jostling bodies, the wafted smell of sweating burger onions and a vast section where the “stalls” generally comprised gatherings of orphaned trainers, boxy VHS players and other random house-clearance items dumped on to lengths of tarpaulin. I was an eager but gastronomically green 25-year-old in my first proper flatshare and this ragtag locus of trade became an early site of core dining memories. I thoughtfully appraised very ordinary vegetables, channelling Rick Stein in Gascony; bought warm, hectically seeded granary loaves from the Percy Ingle bakery; ate average pub Thai, better kerbside rotisserie chicken; and generally tried, with limited success, to ignore the creeping sense that I had settled in a part of town that wanted for some structure or culinary vitality.It was this atmosphere of cultural nascence into which the Deptford Project trundled

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$1.50 mangoes: Australia’s best-value fruit and veg for November

Kensington Pride, Calypso and Honey Gold mangoes are the juiciest of the crop right now – but avoid potatoes until prices come back downGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailHot weather in the Northern Territory has been favourable for summer’s golden child.“Everyone should be eating mangoes right now,” says Josh Flamminio, co-owner of Galluzzo Fruiterers in Sydney.The mango abundance will continue throughout the month and will only get better as supply from Queensland increases. Flamminio is selling larger premium mangoes for $2.50 to $3 each, and smaller-sized ones for $1

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Crispy chicken and pancetta with a nutty apple salad: Thomasina Miers’ Sunday best recipes

I recently invested in a beautifully wide, Shropshire-made pan that works on the hob and in the oven with equal ease, and without the chemical nonstick lining I keep reading about. It is a brilliant pan. As I turn on the heat to crisp the skin on my chicken thighs on the stove top, I can prep the vegetables I will then roast in the same pan. There is a soothing rhythm to this type of cooking, where most of the work is done in the oven. Here, I use jerusalem artichokes, the most delicious of autumn vegetables, parboiled in lemon juice to make them more digestible and then roasted with garlic and onions, until beautifully caramelised, and it’s a marvellous thing to put down on the kitchen table

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Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for ginger biscuit s’mores | The sweet spot

What’s Bonfire Night without some toasty, gooey marshmallows? And it’s only right to have them in a s’more, the American classic that’s also now part of the festivities over on this side of the pond. Digestive biscuits are typically the go-to, but I like to add extra flavour, depth and texture by using ginger oaty biscuits instead. These are quick to put together and don’t require any chilling. Ideally, the s’mores would be made over a real fire, but a blowtorch or hot grill will do the job, too.Prep 5 min Cook 30 min Makes 9100g unsalted butter 25g honey 130g plain flour 120g caster sugar 45g oats 2 tsp ground ginger ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda ½ tsp salt 9 squares dark chocolate 9 marshmallows Flaky sea saltHeat the oven to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5 and line two oven trays with baking paper

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Warming whites? Break away from the ice bucket this winter | Hannah Crosbie on drinks

We’ve all heard of chilled reds by now, right? Even so, it was only relatively recently that they became part of our drinking lexicon, and modern British drinkers realised that bringing down the temperature of certain reds by a few degrees made them sing and deliver charmingly pronounced, bright, fresh fruit notes. So much so that I now can’t think of drinking a light French red any other way.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more