England captain Ben Stokes has kept cricket fans guessing about his team's fitness and selection plans just days before the highly anticipated Ashes series begins in Australia.
The all-rounder faced media in Western Australia on Wednesday, offering remarkably brief responses to questions about his physical condition and the readiness of star quicks Mark Wood and Jofra Archer.
Stokes Plays Straight Bat to Fitness Questions
When asked about his own physical state, Stokes provided a single-word answer: "Good." Pressed on whether his body felt strong enough to sustain a bowling workload throughout the Test series, he added simply: "Yep."
The minimal responses represent a departure from England's typically expressive BazBall approach, creating an air of mystery around the team's preparations.
Stokes was similarly guarded when discussing his fast bowling arsenal, particularly the dynamic duo of Wood and Archer. While confirming both speedsters were "flying" in training sessions, he refused to reveal whether they would play together in the Perth opener or be subject to managed workloads.
England's Pace Attack Remains Shrouded in Mystery
England arrives with an impressive contingent of fast bowlers, headlined by the express pace of Archer and Wood. Both players have proven their ability to impact Ashes contests previously.
Wood turned the 2023 series with his blistering speed, while Archer engaged in memorable battles with Australian batting maestro Steve Smith during the last Ashes tour down under.
"It would be exciting, wouldn't it?" Stokes remarked about the prospect of unleashing both Wood and Archer simultaneously. "It's nine days until that first Test match, so there's a lot of time for stuff to fall into place or something to happen."
The England skipper expressed confidence in his entire bowling group, stating: "At the moment, from a fast bowling point of view, the guys who we've picked are all in a really good place."
England Defends Controversial Ashes Preparation
One area where Stokes did elaborate was defending England's much-criticised lead-in to the Ashes series. The team has scheduled only one warm-up match against the English Lions at Lilac Hill before facing Australia at Optus Stadium next Friday.
Stokes dismissed suggestions that England was underprepared, arguing that modern cricket had evolved beyond the traditional two or three warm-up matches.
"I don't really know what we're supposed to do, to be honest, we've been preparing for this for a long time," he said.
The captain pointed to several factors influencing their preparation, including ongoing state cricket in Australia and recent international commitments for some squad members in New Zealand.
"The schedule is pretty jam packed... I think there's a lot of factors that have changed over the years in cricket," Stokes explained. "In terms of preparation, we've been preparing for this for a very long time, we put a lot of time and effort into how we prepare for every series and that hasn't changed with this one."
With the first Test rapidly approaching, Australian cricket enthusiasts will need to wait until the teams are announced to discover whether England's pace weapons will be fully unleashed in Perth.
