Ben Stokes bats away criticism of England's Ashes preparations

Captain Ben Stokes denied Wednesday that England were undercooked for the Ashes series against Australia after a chorus of criticism led by legends Ian Botham and Geoffrey Boycott.

England's full squad only assembled in Perth last weekend, some coming from a white-ball series in New Zealand where they crashed 3-0, while others arrived in dribs and drabs.

They only have one red-ball warm-up game before the opening Test in Perth on November 21 -- a three-day clash against a second-tier England A starting on Thursday.

In contrast, almost all of Australia's Ashes squad have been playing domestic Sheffield Shield matches around the country.

Boycott wrote in a recent column for British newspaper The Telegraph that England's preparations were "madness".

"If they win in Australia it will be in spite of their lack of match practice, not because of it. Match practice would give them a better chance," he said.

Botham last month said a lack of warm-ups against Australian state sides "borders on arrogance" and renewed his criticism this week.

"I think historically, you have to acclimatise when you come down here," he said in Melbourne..

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

"The ball does seem to get to you quicker (in Perth) and the light's different. There's all kinds of things go into the melting pot."

But Stokes is adamant England are ready for what will be a gruelling five-Test showdown as they bid to win a first series in Australia since 2010-2011.

- Jam-packed schedule -
"I don't really know what we're supposed to do, to be honest," said the talismanic all-rounder, who has not played any cricket since July after a shoulder injury.

"The schedule is pretty jam-packed to be able to sort of prepare the way our teams probably would have done 10-15-20-30 years ago.

"There's a lot of factors that have changed over the years of cricket.

"So in terms of preparation, we've been preparing for this for a very long time. We put a lot of time and effort into how we prepare for every series, and that hasn't changed with this one.

"So from the 21st of this month, we know that we would have put everything possible that we could have done to be in the right place."

Assistant coach Marcus Trescothick also defended England's lead-up, saying: "Times have dramatically changed in the way that cricket is done.

"If you look at the situation around the world, everyone does the same nowadays. You turn up, play a game and into the series you go."

England, who last lifted the Ashes urn at home in 2015, have a terrible recent record in Australia, losing 13 of the last 15 Tests. The other two were drawn.

Stokes insisted past results meant little.

"They're a phenomenal team, especially in their home, so we know the next two-and-a-half months is going to be tough for us," he said of Australia.

"But I think all the series that have gone past, whether that be in Australia or England, I don't think count for much."

Stokes backs Root to fire

Skipper Ben Stokes hailed Joe Root as England's greatest batsman Wednesday and backed him to fire in the Ashes against Australia, while hyping up his team's vaunted pace attack.

England's record run-scorer is yet to win a Test in Australia in 14 attempts and is still searching for his first ton, despite boasting 39 hundreds in his career.

Root, 34, arrived in Perth this week to newspaper headlines calling him "Average Joe" as pundits highlighted his supposed shortcomings.

But Stokes said he had no concerns about Root's failure to make three figures in Australia in the past.

"He's the greatest English batter that the nation has seen," Stokes said in Perth ahead of England's only red-ball warm-up game starting on Thursday before the first Test on November 21.

"He's been in phenomenal form over the last two, three years, and he's not come out here to score a hundred in Australia, he's come out here to contribute to his team."

Root, the world's top-ranked batsman, has a top score of 89 in Australia and also played down his lack of tons before leaving England, insisting: "At the end of the day this tour is not about me.

"They are going to say what they want to say anyway, so why bother worrying about it?"

England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick warned Australia will face a different Root when the five-Test series starts, believing the conditions will suit him.

- 'Next level' -
"His game has gone to the next level and hence the reason where he is in the rankings," the former England opener said.

"You would be very surprised if he doesn't carry on in that same sort of vein with the style of play and the type of player he is."

While Root scoring runs will be key to England's success, they are also heavily relying on an attack full of express pacemen led by Jofra Archer and Mark Wood.

With Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts and Josh Tongue also in the squad, England are expected to rotate them to get through the gruelling series.

"It's great to have the X-factor that Jofra and Woody possess in terms of pace," said Stokes.

"Woody's got over his knee surgery that he had quite a while ago. He's overcome that, and he's looking really, really good.

"Jofra's been out for two-and-a-half years now, so it's great seeing those two flying in and sending some fast falls down there.

"The guys that we've picked are all in a really good place," he added.

"It's very nice knowing that you've got a bowling attack that all bowl 85 mph and a couple of guys who can get into the low-to-mid 90s as well.

"But it's not just all about pace, it's about skill. And we're fortunate enough that we've got a battery of fast bowlers who not only bowl good pace, but are also extremely skilful in any condition."