Ashes: England President dismisses doubts about preparations in Australia

Legendary former all-rounder Lord Botham said this month that England’s lack of warm-ups against Australian states teams “borders on arrogance”. Their batting struggles in the ongoing ODI series in New Zealand have not dampened such talk.

It is no secret that England have tried to use the white-ball tour to help their preparation, ease Test players’ return to competitive cricket, increase the workloads on their fast bowlers and try to get their batsmen time in the middle.

Fast bowling trio Jos Atkinson, Mark Wood and Josh Tonge have also been with the teams working on their own programs with backroom staff.

It has worked for some. Team captain Harry Brook scored a century in the first ODI and looked to be in fine form, while fast bowler Jofra Archer quickly found his groove to take 3-23 in the second match – his first outing of the winter.

However, Joe Root, Ben Duckett and Jimmy Smith, who are all playing for the first time since the start of September, have scored 43 points between them in four games – giving rise to the problem.

“I understand where the question is coming from, the history of the game,” Barney said when asked if the discussion around the pre-Ashes schedule was frustrating.

“The interesting question is – have you looked at the future tour programme? Have you looked at cricket and the fact that an all-rounder left the country on October 13, and if they play in all their England commitments and play in the Indian Premier League and The Hundred, they will have less than two weeks off between now and the end of September?”

“There is a high volume of cricket being played which means there is a constant balance between red-ball, white-ball, franchise and domestic cricket commitments.

“We are confident in the preparation, the approach, the time the team has come together, and the ability we have had to deliver a range of different preparations that are ideal for different players.”