‘Bordering on arrogance’ – England’s Ashes prep under spotlight

With the highly-anticipated Ashes looming, England’s preparation, or lack of, for the five-Test series has been heavily scrutinised as they are set to play just one warm-up game.

England will play the Lions in a three-day match starting overnight on Thursday, a striking contrast to the side’s build-up when they last won in Australia in 2010/11, when they took a much more rigorous approach.

The decision has caused mixed reactions with some believing after the ODI series whitewash against New Zealand this is all England need.

However there are concerns the warm-up match at Lilac Hill near Perth, against a side made up of potential back-up players and up and coming prospects, will not replicate the challenge of playing Australia at home.

Lord Ian Botham has described the decision as “bordering on arrogance”.

“It’s not the way I would prepare. I think historically, you have to acclimatise,” the former England captain told reporters in Melbourne earlier this week.

“You’ve got to remember, there’s 24 million people down here, not 11. And you have to take that on board.”

Speaking on the Old Boys, New Balls podcast, Botham previously added: “I’m worried. We’re going to wander in and have a little game with the ‘A’ team.

“[It will be] ‘Alright mate, how are you? Good on ya’ and we’re going to go and perform?

“Not one [state match], which borders on arrogance. You’ve got to give yourself the chance. 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.”

However assistant coach Marcus Trescothick has jumped to the defence of the English side’s decision to play just the one red ball match before the Test series.

“It’s the way it’s worked for us and for other teams with the volume of cricket that’s played around the world these days,” he said.

“You don’t have the time for the preparation of playing three or four first-class games, which has happened in the past.

“You generally roll with a prep game with the facilities you have. Most of the guys have also been playing in New Zealand for us in recent weeks while some have come out from England, but it’s the way of the modern game these days.

“It about getting that preparation right and getting the guys together has worked well before – keeping it short, sharp and intense and working in that fashion.”

How have England prepped for the Ashes before?

England’s last Ashes series win in Australia came in 2010/11 where the tourists won the series 3-1.

In the build-up, England took a drastically different approach to this year, taking on state sides Western Australia and South Australia as well as Australia A.

They took two wins and a rain-induced draw, including a 10-wicket victory over Australia A, into the first Test in Brisbane, a game they stoically fought back to draw before winning the second Test in Adelaide by an innings.

However, that historic series followed another in Australia where England’s preparation was highly criticised.

In 2006, England played a warm-up game against the Prime Minister’s XI that ended in the visitors losing by a shocking 166 runs.

They then went on to lose the Ashes 5-0 having won the previous iconic series in 2005 for the first time in 18 years.

Their most recent tour to Australia in 2021/22 during peak Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, saw rain force their warm-up game against the Lions in Brisbane to be abandoned with only half a day’s play possible.

Joe Root’s side would then go on to lose the Ashes series 4-0.

Andrew Strauss, the last England captain to win on Australian soil in 2011, admitted one warm-up match this time around “looks like a high-risk strategy”.

“There’s so many tours that have gone pear-shaped right from ball one,” he told the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.

“If you go into that first Test under-cooked and you’re not used to the intensity an Ashes series brings, then you can come unstuck very, very quickly.

“I think Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum will know that if things don’t go well this tour, it will be the No 1 criticism that comes their way.

“But ultimately, the proof of the pudding’s in the eating. If they go out and play well in that first Test, then all will be forgiven.”

Can the Lions really replicate an Australia bowling attack?

Analysis from Sky Sports’ Adam Williams:

At first glance, you’d be forgiven for asking, ‘who’s he?’ when casting a look down the 18-strong England Lions squad who will be based in Australia until the end of the second Test in Brisbane.

There are just four players in it with Test experience: spinners Rehan Ahmed and Tom Hartley and seamers Matt Fisher and Josh Hull. That’s a combined total of 12 Test caps, 10 of which belong to the two spinners.

Hull has been a Bazball protégé of sorts, but his sole Test appearance in 2024 came in a defeat by Sri Lanka at The Oval where he ended the game by almost breaking down due to the sudden increase in workload.

Even at 6ft 7ins tall, a Mitchell Starc replica he is not other than being a left-armer. But, the Leicestershire seamer is intent on playing his part in the build-up while also potentially enhancing his own Test recall chances.

“For England, you want the batters to be in good form and whacking it about,” he said.

“But once you get into the battle, my job as bowler is trying to take wickets for the Lions.

“There’s obviously two sides to it, but my main job is to get those guys out. You want them to have a good run out and feel good, but we’ll play our part by being really competitive.”

On the comparisons with Starc, Hull added: “There haven’t been any specific conversations [with coaches] around that. But in terms of being ‘like for like’, I’m most similar.

“He’s obviously a lot better than I am and he’s someone I’ve idolised massively. If I can do something similar to him that would be handy, but we’ll see when we get out there.

“You look at other left-armers and think ‘what do I need to do to be the best?’. That’s why I look to Mitchell Starc. I’ve got similar attributes and if I can do anything close to what he does, it would be successful.”

Also included in the Lions squad, coached by Andrew Flintoff, are Sonny Baker and Eddie Jack, two tall right-armers who are clearly earmarked for international futures. But will they be more than just powder-puff preparation for facing Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland at the Optus Stadium?

More to the point – would they really be likely to get the call up should one or more of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood get ruled out of the series through injury?

Ahmed will perhaps consider himself unfortunate not to have been picked in the senior squad ahead of Will Jacks after his promising returns with the bat last summer and will most likely get the call-up should Shoaib Bashir get injured.

Batting-wise, Jordan Cox, Ben McKinney (a left-handed opener like Australia’s new recruit Jake Weatherald) and the Rew brothers, Somerset pair James and Thomas, are most likely to be the ones happy to attack England’s pace battery and give Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes plenty to ponder ahead of the opening day of the first Test at Optus Stadium.

Ashes series in Australia 2025-26

All times UK and Ireland

• First Test: Friday November 21 – Tuesday November 25 (2.30am) – Optus Stadium, Perth
• Second Test (day/night): Thursday December 4 – Monday December 8 (4.30am) – The Gabba, Brisbane
• Third Test: Wednesday December 17 – Sunday December 21 (12am) – Adelaide Oval
• Fourth Test: Thursday December 25 – Monday December 29 (11.30pm) – Melbourne Cricket Ground
• Fifth Test: Sunday January 4 – Thursday January 8 (11.30pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com