Are England’s Ashes preparations giving them the best chance of success?

England secured a 1-0 T20 bilateral series victory over New Zealand on Thursday morning, after the rain prevailed for the second time in three matches.

Regardless, it was England’s third T20 series win in four under new captain Harry Brook, with just one defeat in that period, and the team is taking shape nicely ahead of the ICC World T20, which begins in February 2026.

Some may question though why their T20 preparations are seemingly being prioritised less than a month away from the beginning of a huge Ashes series in which England historically struggle to compete, with Lord Ian Botham recently claiming the warm-up schedule “borders on arrogance”.

But is he correct?

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A modern trend

The notion of warm-up matches ahead of a major Test series are going increasingly out of fashion in the modern cricket climate, with England’s preparations for the upcoming Ashes series raising concerns over their lack of time to adapt to the Australian conditions ahead of the first Test in Perth.

After typically undertaking multiple tour matches against Australian state opposition, the Covid pandemic meant England only had two warm-up matches against their travelling Lions side ahead of the 2021-22 series – both significantly impacted by the weather – but that has been maintained this time around with just one match scheduled against their ‘second tier’ development squad beginning on November 13.

This is not just the case with the England camp; Australia came under scrutiny when they bypassed traditional tour matches against county sides ahead of the 2023 Ashes, though they did have the World Test Championship final against India at the Oval and a number of players participating in the County Championship to benefit from.

Both England and Australia are currently engaged in white ball series against New Zealand and India, respectively, with the ICC World T20 in India and Sri Lanka also scheduled on the horizon in early 2026.

By contrast, India had two unofficial Test matches under their belt by the start of their Test series with England this summer, against a young but strong Lions outfit, which gave match practice to a number of their key first XI players.

Tour matches losing significance

When England last tasted success Down Under 15 years ago, they had three First Class matches in the build-up to the opener in Brisbane, two of which were played at venues used during the series.

Whether England was simply in a better place than Australia back then and were destined to win that series regardless, there is no doubt that weeks of red ball match practice can only benefit a group of players.

The value of warm-up matches have seemingly diminished over the years for a number of reasons, with more controlled intra-squad preparation now often the most favoured route for coaching staff.

What were once viewed as significant occasions for domestic sides to face an international touring party became simply a chance to roll out fringe players or those with minimal professional experience, often on pitches not necessarily in the best interests of their opposition, which somewhat diluted the benefits gained.

Players are also deemed much more adaptable to conditions these days due to past experience and the volume of cricket played, with the cricketing calendar no longer sparse enough to accommodate lengthy tours to include warm-up matches and a white ball series alongside, as was historically the case.

That being said, the build-up to an away Ashes series does fall in a rare quiet window with no ongoing franchise tournaments, and it can be questioned whether England are maximising the available time to be considered fully ready for such a major and demanding series.

Australia players gearing up in the Sheffield Shield

Whilst Australia are similarly focusing on white ball cricket, a significant number of their squad facing India are not in their Ashes plans.

Only Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head and Mitchell Starc have been involved over the first two ODI’s who will also be named in the first Test XI at Perth.

The remainder of their expected squad have been benefiting from the start of their domestic season and a run of competitive red ball cricket in the Sheffield Shield, an offer not reciprocated to English players, as it is Australians in the county game, given the much smaller pool of players involved and the reluctance to shift focus away from developing local talent.

None more so than Marnus Labuschagne, who is on track for a Test recall with 337 runs across three innings, including two centuries, whilst uncapped Jake Weatherald has also thrown his name into the hat with three half-centuries.

Opening pair Usman Khawaja and Sam Konstas have both made steady starts to the campaign, whilst seamer Scott Boland, who is set to fill in for Pat Cummins, has been impressive with 11 wickets in two matches.

Steve Smith has not played since the Hundred in August but is poised to return for New South Wales next week, whilst pace duo Hazlewood and Starc are also expected to feature in a round ahead of the Perth opener.

Are England risking being undercooked in Perth?

There is no underestimating how important it is for England to make a positive start this series, given the way previous trips to Australia have begun so poorly and set a tone they have been unable to reverse.

Whilst this is England’s first Test match at the new Perth Stadium, they have a pretty dismal record in Western Australia, which makes the proposition a daunting one.

No warm-up matches can truly replicate anything like the pressure of a Test match, let alone an Ashes Test, though a well-mannered contest between close colleagues at a small park ground in a Perth suburb could not be further from Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood charging in at a sold-out Optus Stadium cauldron.

A number of players will get time out in the middle during the upcoming ODI leg of the New Zealand series, such as Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Smith with the bat, as well as Brydon Carse with ball in hand.

Workload management

However, others will be arriving in Australia less prepared.

Zak Crawley has only played one T20 since August, and Shoaib Bashir last featured against India at Lord’s on July 14, whilst for other members, such as Ollie Pope and Gus Atkinson, it will be approaching two months since their last appearance in the final rounds of the County Championship.

This is not to say a lot of work has not gone on behind the scenes at the training centre in Loughborough or currently out in New Zealand and with the buzz term workload management so key to modern Test success, a lower volume of match preparation is perhaps understandable to ensure the freshness of their pace attack, though you can not help but feel England are at risk from being caught cold in the Perth sun.

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