'It's the way of modern game': Trescothick defends team's minimal preps ahead of Ashes opener

Perth, Nov 11 (IANS) England batting coach Marcus Trescothick has defended the team’s minimal preparation for the upcoming Ashes series, stating that not engaging in several warm-up matches against local teams reflects the current norms of the modern game.

Over the past week, tourists have gradually arrived in Perth, with their full squad, including several players returning from a limited-overs tour of New Zealand, coming together for a training session that lasted over two hours at Lilac Hill in Perth’s eastern suburbs on Tuesday.

They will begin a three-day match against their ‘A’ side, the England Lions, at the venue from Thursday. However, unlike in 2013 and 2017, their preparation for the first Test of the series will not feature a game against a WA side.

After Ian Botham voiced concern about their preparations, stating that not playing at least one game against a state team “borders on arrogance”, Trescothick stated that there are no worries about whether the lower, slower conditions at Lilac Hill will sufficiently prepare them for the anticipated fast and bouncy pitch at Optus Stadium for the Ashes opener on November 21.

“I think the way that these series are generally done, for us and for opposition teams with the volume of cricket that’s played around the world these days, you don’t have time for preparations like potentially playing two or three First Class games. It’s the way of the modern game nowadays. We’re very happy with what we’re getting. We’ve had facilities here with the nets and the nets out in the middle and then we’ve got the preparation game here as well. We’ll have three days of prep at Optus, just to get to used the pitches as we go along with that, and we’ll go from there,” Trescothick was quoted as saying by The West Australian.

Since appointing Brendon McCullum as coach and Ben Stokes as captain in 2022, England have experienced a remarkable transformation in their Test cricket, embracing an aggressive style known as ‘Bazball’ in honour of their New Zealander mentor.

--IANS

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