England cricket captain Ben Stokes defends his team's lack of matches ahead of the Ashes

PERTH, Australia (AP) — England cricket captain Ben Stokes has defended his side's lack of warm-up matches as the team prepares for the first Ashes test against Australia in Perth beginning Nov. 21.

England is looking to break a 14-year winless run in Australia. Stokes and fellow veteran batter Joe Root have never won a test in Australia, with no survivors left from the 2010-11 series win.

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Australia has won 5-0, 4-0, and 4-0 the last three times England has traveled Down Under for the most anticipated series in world cricket.

England's only preparation for the first test is a three-day match against the England Lions, essentially an England A team, starting on Thursday at Lilac Hill in Perth.

That decision has drawn criticism from Ashes greats on both sides such as Ian Healy, Ian Botham and Geoffrey Boycott.

But Stokes believes England’s preparation will be more than sufficient to win a test in Australia for the first time since it last won an away Ashes series.

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“There’s obviously state (domestic first-class) cricket going on at the moment,” Stokes said Wednesday. “Time has got to be taken into consideration as well. Some of our squad members were playing the (white-ball) series in New Zealand."

Most of Australia's Ashes test players are tuning up in those same first-class matches this week and early next.

Stokes also said cricket's “jam-packed” schedule makes it more difficult to prepare than “10, 15, 20, 30 years ago.”

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“We put a lot of time and effort into how we prepare for every series, and that hasn’t changed with this one,' Stokes added. "Come the 21st of this month, we know that we would have done everything possible that we could have done.”

Root has not scored a century in 14 tests in Australia.

“He’s the greatest English batter that the nation’s seen,” Stokes said. “He’s been a phenomenal form over the last two, three years. He’s not come out here to score a 100 in Australia, he’s come out here to contribute to the team.”

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Stokes said his team should not be overwhelmed playing in Australia.

“Coming to Australia for the Ashes is a lot different than anything else when you’re playing,” he said. “There’s a lot more that goes on away from the cricket itself."

The Perth test will be followed by four more in Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

The Associated Press

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