Ben Stokes hits back at England ‘has-beens’ over criticism of Ashes preparations
Ben Stokes has warned England’s players to be wary of an Australian media desperate to pounce on any indiscretion or hint of scandal, saying the Ashes tourists have already been the subject of some “unbelievable journalism” and that such treatment is “part of being in Australia … it’s not just stuff out on the field that can get you, it’s also the off-field stuff.”The England captain’s disgruntlement with his side’s treatment in the press extends to recent criticism of their preparations, with Stokes hitting out at the “has beens” who have been leading the chorus of complaint and insisting that “we leave no stone unturned” and “have prepared incredibly well”.Stokes’s arrival in Perth last week prompted the West Australian to launch an attack on “England’s cocky captain complainer” over a front-page photograph of the 34-year-old pushing his bags through the airport, while Joe Root was subjected to similar treatment on Monday.“I was a bit gutted when they turned their attention to Rooty because I was waiting to see what the next headline about me was,” Stokes said.“But it’s expected.
That’s part of being in Australia.“It’s another one of those things we’re going to have to deal with, especially some of the guys out here for the first time.It’s letting them know it’s probably what it’s going to be like.It’s not just stuff out on the field that can get you, it’s also the off-field stuff.It’s how you take it.
You [have to] take it in your stride and laugh it off,“There’s maybe four or five of us who’ve been on a tour of Australia, so it’s up to us to explain to [the others] and let them know what to expect,From my personal experience, coming to Australia for the Ashes is a lot different to anything else we play in,There’s a lot more that goes on away from the cricket itself,“It’s making everyone aware that’s the case but it’s nothing to be afraid of, don’t shy away from the opportunity in front of us.
When you’re growing up you watch these kinds of series and hope and dream of being in a team that gets the opportunity to represent England out in Australia.Now we are here, and it’s nothing to be afraid of.”Stokes also responded to the string of retired internationals from both countries, including the former England captains Ian Botham, Sir Geoffrey Boycott and Michael Vaughan, who have voiced concerns about England’s schedule.Vaughan, who as captain lead England to an Ashes victory in 2005, responded to Stoke’s comments later on Wednesday via his column in the Telegraph, saying: “Just because the has-beens have a different view does not mean these are not valid comments.England should respect those views.
”England play a single warmup fixture, a three-day game against a side made up of squad members and players from the Lions, which starts at Lilac Hill on Thursday.When Boycott was part of the team that won the urn in 1970-71, by contrast, the tourists played four matches against state sides over the month before the first Test got under way, with another three squeezed between Ashes encounters.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“Cricket’s changed so much and preparation is nowhere near as simple as it used to be,” Stokes said.“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.
But we’ve been preparing for this tour not over the last few 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 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.But we are very confident and very comfortable with how we prepare, because we leave no stone unturned.
We have prepared incredibly well.All in different places and continents but everyone has been preparing for this series for a long time now so come the 21st [November] we will be good.”Discussing the fitness of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood – who along with the side’s other seamers skipped training on Wednesday to conserve their energy for a warmup game their captain predicted would be “balls to the wall for everyone, no easing into it” – Stokes said it “would be exciting” to have both pacemen on the field for the opening Test, but warned: “It’s still nine days until it starts, that’s a lot of time for things to fall into place or for something to happen.”The wisdom of this approach was proved even while he was speaking, when, on the other side of the country, two of Australia’s seamers were being assessed for possible injuries.Every member of the home side’s Ashes squad, except Usman Khawaja, is playing in domestic Sheffield Shield matches this week, and during Wednesday’s third day of the game between Victoria and New South Wales at the SCG both Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott limped from the field of play.
With the captain Pat Cummins ruled out of the opening Test with a back injury, Australia can ill-afford to lose Hazlewood, another of their premier seamers, and the potential absence of him and the backup option Abbott, who had taken five wickets in the match to Hazlewood’s one, would push the 31-year-old Brendan Doggett into contention for his international debut,
Ben Stokes hits back at England ‘has-beens’ over criticism of Ashes preparations
Ben Stokes has warned England’s players to be wary of an Australian media desperate to pounce on any indiscretion or hint of scandal, saying the Ashes tourists have already been the subject of some “unbelievable journalism” and that such treatment is “part of being in Australia … it’s not just stuff out on the field that can get you, it’s also the off-field stuff.”The England captain’s disgruntlement with his side’s treatment in the press extends to recent criticism of their preparations, with Stokes hitting out at the “has beens” who have been leading the chorus of complaint and insisting that “we leave no stone unturned” and “have prepared incredibly well”.Stokes’s arrival in Perth last week prompted the West Australian to launch an attack on “England’s cocky captain complainer” over a front-page photograph of the 34-year-old pushing his bags through the airport, while Joe Root was subjected to similar treatment on Monday.“I was a bit gutted when they turned their attention to Rooty because I was waiting to see what the next headline about me was,” Stokes said. “But it’s expected
Trump pardons trail runner convicted after taking shortcut during record run
Donald Trump has pardoned a trail runner who briefly took a closed trail on his way to a record time on the tallest peak in the Teton Range of western Wyoming.The pardon for Michelino Sunseri, unlike recent ones for Trump allies, appeared apolitical.“Michelino is pleased, of course, but nobody expects a pardon,” Sunseri’s attorney, Michael Poon, told Outside. “He shouldn’t have had to go through this ordeal to begin with. It’s not a case that should have ever been brought to trial
Ollie Pope poised to stay at No 3 as England focus on continuity for Ashes
England may stand accused of not taking their Ashes preparations seriously but with only three days against the Lions to hone their players’ cutting edge they have promised to approach the solitary game of their pared‑down warm-up with as much intensity as they can muster.The assistant coach Marcus Trescothick said the focus would be on making the game “as competitive as we can”, as they prepare to effectively unveil their first-choice Ashes XI.While every member of the Ashes squad will be involved in the match, with some turning out for the Lions against their own teammates, the England side is expected to be at full strength. Every player trained in an intensive session on Tuesday – Ben Stokes doing one session in the nets against spin, one against seam, and another bowling – with no fitness issues reported.This means that while the debate about England’s preparation will rumble on, the one over the identity of their first-choice No 3 may soon be settled, with Trescothick strongly hinting that Ollie Pope has seen off the challenge of Jacob Bethell to keep his place, where he has batted in 32 of England’s 35 innings since the start of 2024
Advantage England? Emma Raducanu gives tips to squad for All Blacks clash
England’s preparations for their clash with the All Blacks on Saturday have been boosted by some words of wisdom from the former US Open tennis champion Emma Raducanu, who visited their Bagshot training base on Tuesday.Raducanu took to the training field with Steve Borthwick’s squad, taking part in lineout practice and kicking drills with Marcus Smith before sharing insights with the captain, Maro Itoje. Borthwick also invited the Brighton manager, Fabian Hürzeler, to address the squad this week.Eddie Jones was vilified in 2021 when he appeared to criticise the British No 1 women’s tennis player, using the 22-year-old to illustrate the pitfalls of off-field distractions when saying: “There’s a reason why the young girl who won the US Open hasn’t done so well afterwards.” As revealed by the Guardian, Raducanu then skipped an invitation from the Rugby Football Union to attend a match at Twickenham later that autumn
England play Generation Game against All Blacks with overhaul of traditional order of selection | Robert Kitson
Selecting your best XV to start a big rugby match feels increasingly quaint these days, as redolent of a different era as the Generation Game or Starsky & Hutch. To the point where you half expect to find the home teamsheet to face New Zealand this weekend has D‑N‑A‑L‑G‑N‑E printed at the top of it. Even with the All Blacks in town, the traditional order of selection no longer applies.Instead it is all about the endgame. On this occasion Steve Borthwick has picked six British & Irish Lions on his bench compared with only four in his starting lineup
Steve Borthwick warns England to prepare for pain in All Blacks clash
Steve Borthwick has called on his side to prepare for “pain and suffering” if they are to end their losing run against the All Blacks, demanding the most selfless England team in history in the showdown on Saturday.Predicting an aerial bombardment from New Zealand, Borthwick has recalled George Ford, insisting his fly‑half general “will be an England coach in the future”, and again loaded his bench with the “Pom Squad”, including six British & Irish Lions among his replacements.Freddie Steward returns at full‑back and Borthwick has stacked his bench with Ellis Genge – who was captain last week –Luke Cowan‑Dickie, Will Stuart, Tom Curry, Henry Pollock and Marcus Smith; all of whom toured Australia with the Lions during the summer.England have not beaten New Zealand since the 2019 World Cup semi-final and lost three narrow encounters against them last year. The All Blacks are unbeaten in five Twickenham games, a run dating back to 2012
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