The Ashes: England chief dismisses doubts over preparation in Australia

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

It is no secret that England are trying to use the white-ball tour to aid their preparations, making it easier for Test players to return to competitive cricket, increasing the workload of fast bowlers and giving batsmen time in the middle.

Fast bowling trio Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood and Josh Tongue were also with the teams working on their own programmes, along with the backroom staff.

It worked for some. Limited-overs skipper Harry Brook scored a century in the first ODI and looks to be in good form, while fast bowler Jofra Archer took 3-23 in the second match, his winter debut.

But Joe Root, Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith, playing for the first time since the beginning of September, scored 43 points between them in four games, causing the problem to grow further.

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

“The interesting question is: Have you looked at the Future Tours Schedule? Have you looked at franchise cricket and the fact that a multi-format player leaves the country on October 13th and if they play all the matches in England and they play in the Indian Premier League and The Hundred, will they have less than two weeks between now and the end of September?”

“There is a volume of cricket that means red-ball, white-ball, franchise and domestic cricket commitments are constantly being balanced.

“We have confidence in the set-up, the approach, the time the team comes together and the ability to offer different preparations that are best suited to different players.”