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ian botham New concerns have arisen regarding EnglandDecision to play only one internal match in Australia before the beginning of ash And said he was worried visitors would be underprepared.
The former England captain, who earlier talked about a light warm-up schedule “The Limits of Ego”suggested that tourists needed more time to adapt to the conditions.
The last England players to join up with the squad in Perth arrived on Sunday and will face only the England Lions, essentially reserves, in a three-day match before the Ashes begin on November 21.
“This is not the way I would prepare,” Botham, who was part of overseas victories in 1978-79 and 1986-87, said in Melbourne on Tuesday.
“I think historically when you come here you have to adapt. You have to remember there are not 11, but 24 million people here. And you have to take that with you.
“The ball seems to come to you faster (in Perth) and the lights are different. You have the ‘Fremantle Doctor’; all sorts of things go into the melting pot.”
Under Brendon McCullum, England have previously preferred a short warm-up period before overseas tours. England are attempting to win their first overseas Ashes series since 2010–11, where they played two three-day friendlies and one four-day warm-up match in preparation.
England played two international matches against the England Lions before the final 2021–22 Ashes, before losing the series 4–0. However, Botham said he expected a better performance from Ben Stokes and urged the visitors to deploy an “aggressive” pace attack against Australia.
“If the England bowlers can stay fit, which doesn’t happen very often, and the captain can play a full role then I think England have a real chance,” he said.
“I think that’s the right way. You want to be aggressive, come forward and players, if they’re not playing very well, don’t like that in the ribs. So, yes, it will be interesting.”