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,They 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.
Starmer allies issue warning to PM’s rivals as fears grow over leadership challenge
Downing Street has launched an extraordinary operation to protect Keir Starmer amid fears among the prime minister’s closest allies that he is vulnerable to a leadership challenge in the wake of the budget.Starmer’s most senior political aides warned that any attempt to oust the prime minister over tanking poll ratings would be a “reckless” and “dangerous” move that could destabilise the markets, international relationships and the Labour party.They insisted that Starmer would fight to retain the leadership in any contest that followed a challenge, either immediately after the budget or, more plausibly, following defeat at the May local elections.A bitter row broke out after No 10 sources said they had grown increasingly concerned over speculation among MPs that Wes Streeting could be planning an imminent coup against the prime minister – a move fiercely denied by the health secretary.In a sign of how anxious some in No 10 have become over Starmer’s position, senior figures said they had been told that Streeting had 50 frontbenchers willing to stand down if the budget landed badly and the prime minister did not go
Nandy rules out taking action to remove Robbie Gibb from BBC board – as it happened
Sarah Owen, the Labour MP, says the BBC did make an editing mistake in its Panorama documentary. But, she says, the only people who are enjoying this are those politicians who do not want a free press.She asks if Nandy will review the influence of Robbie Gibb, the former Tory spin doctor, on the BBC board.Nandy says there is a strict legal threshold for the dismissal of a board member. So she cannot do what Owen is proposing, she says
UK cuts contribution to Aids, tuberculosis and malaria fund by £150m
The UK has cut by 15% its contribution to a leading fund combating preventable diseases, a decision which has dismayed aid groups who said it would lead to hundreds of thousands more otherwise preventable deaths.The UK will commit £850m to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria for the 2027-29 period, against the £1bn pledged by the Conservative government for the last funding round.While the sum, announced in a written government statement, is slightly higher than the figure of £800m previously being discussed by senior officials, aid groups called it a serious setback in global efforts to combat the diseases.The total amount given by all countries to the global fund will be announced later this month at an event co-hosted by the UK on the sidelines of the G20 summit in South Africa, which Keir Starmer is due to attend.Aid groups had warned that a significant cut to UK money, on top of a 30% reduction in the UK contribution at the previous funding round three years ago, would be a further blow after Donald Trump slashed US aid
Racism returning to UK politics – and people are very scared, says Starmer
Decades-old racism is returning to British politics, and “it makes people feel very scared” Keir Starmer has said, warning that divisive hard-right politics was “tearing our country apart”.Speaking to the GP and TV personality Amir Khan, the prime minister accused Nigel Farage’s Reform UK of overseeing a return of the racist and divisive politics “that frankly I thought we had dealt with decades ago”.In the interview, which aired on ITV’s Lorraine show on Tuesday, Starmer also gave his strongest signal that the two-child benefit cap would be lifted in the budget later this month.Asked whether he would scrap the limit, which charities have said is the biggest driver of child poverty in the UK, Starmer said: “I can tell you in no uncertain terms I am determined to drive child poverty down.”He listed measures ministers have already introduced including free school meals, breakfast clubs, and childcare but added: “We need to do more than that, and I can look you in the eye and tell you I am personally committed to driving down child poverty
Your Party row erupts over hundreds of thousands of pounds in donations
The feud between Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana over the future of the leftwing Your Party has taken another twist with the two camps arguing publicly over hundreds of thousands of pounds in donations.Sultana offered to transfer £600,000 from a company the party’s founders set up earlier this year, only to be rebuffed by allies of Corbyn who accused her of playing “political games” with supporters’ money.The latest row comes after months of acrimony between the two former Labour MPs as they jostle to be the figurehead of what they hope will be a new force on the populist left. The tussle for power is likely to come to a head in the new year when the party holds a formal leadership contest.The latest row centres on hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of donations and fees received by MOU Operations Ltd, a company set up earlier this year while the details of Your Party were being thrashed out
Maybe the BBC can learn a thing or two about fake news from Trump | John Crace
You have to admire the chutzpah. The cheek of it. Donald Trump describing the BBC as “corrupt” while threatening to take legal action. Karoline Leavitt, The Donald’s White House mouthpiece, calling the BBC “100% fake news”. The man has never been known for his self-awareness so it’s safe to say the irony has almost certainly passed him by
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