Ben Stokes, captain of the England cricket team, has announced that his team will go all out or nothing in their sole warmup match for the Ashes. They’re about to come out swinging like never before! After that, England will play the newly-named England Lions team in a three-day match. The action begins early Thursday morning on the park’s grounds in Perth. This game becomes even more important to Stokes and his guys. Just like their male counterparts, they are excitedly preparing for that first Test, which gets going on November 21 at Perth’s Optus Stadium.
Stokes’ remarks come in the wake of calls from former cricketing greats like Lord Botham, Michael Vaughan and Graham Gooch. They have questioned the adequacy of England’s warm-up plans and preparations leading into one of cricket’s most prestigious series. That’s not stopping Stokes, who is adamant that the squad’s planning stretches much further back than in recent weeks.
Of course, we didn’t begin planning for this tour three weeks ago. Join us as we share the fruits of our labor—we’ve been thinking hard about this for years! This led Stokes to declare, ‘I don’t know what more we’re supposed to do.’ He underscored the work they’ve done to stay committed to the training diet.
Few have experienced the adversity the England squad has in their just-completed series. Injuries have often plagued Stokes – most notably in the third and final Test against India last summer. He was feeling positive about his shape, having bowled full pace for two months in practice. “That’s all I’ve been doing for the last three months, making sure I’m fit and strong,” he added.
As he prepares for the series, Stokes recently threw his support behind the newly installed Pope as England’s number three batsman, calling him a “class act.” “Popey has done a great job for us at number three,” Stokes remarked.
In defence of his new-found fame in the press, Stokes laughed it off talking about the welcome he received when he touched down in Perth. “It’s unbelievable journalism to get that much information on the front page out of a bloke pushing a suitcase through an airport, so fair play,” he said with a hint of humor.
Stokes said it was essential to treat the warm-up match like a proper game. “The next three days is balls to the wall for everyone – no easing into it,” he stated. He ruled out any intention to rest a player from the senior Ashes party of 16 for the match. Besides that, five other players not in the starting XI will head to the Lions.
“Preparation is nowhere near as simple as it used to be,” Stokes remarked, reflecting on how the team’s approach has evolved over time. He is conscious that finding the right training/rest balance will be important as they approach the Test series. “When the Test series starts, it’s about being sensible through the rest periods, about how much work I do, because I’ve been building up to get here now,” he explained.
Stokes wants to be fit for this highly charged series. He’s as aware of missed opportunities in the past four Test series through injury as he is intent on doing something about it. He looked assured as he discussed the upcoming match with his American side set to face Australia. “Everyone has been preparing for this series for a long time now so, come the 21st, we will be good,” he assured.
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