'Don't know what we're supposed to do': Ben Stokes claps back at critics of Ashes preparation

England captain Ben Stokes has responded to the criticism surrounding his side's preparation for the Ashes, pointing out the "jam-packed" international schedule.

In the lead-up to the first Test next week, two former skippers have publicly questioned the tourists' lack of meaningful game preparation to face Australia.

While a litany of Aussies have featured in Sheffield Shield fixtures, England have come straight from an ODI series against New Zealand into training sessions in Perth.

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Geoffrey Boycott labelled it as "madness" the fact that England haven't played any warm-up matches on Aussie soil, while Ian Botham also admitted his concerns.

However, speaking to media on Wednesday morning, Stokes explained the thought process from inside the camp and why he has no issues with the side's preparation.

"I don't really know what we're supposed to do, to be honest," he said.

"We've been preparing for this for a long time, there's obviously state cricket going on at the moment and a couple of the Australian boys are playing.

"Time has obviously got to be taken into consideration as well, we had some of our squad members out here recently playing a series in New Zealand.

"The schedule is pretty jam-packed to prepare how teams probably would have done 10, 15, 20 or 30 years ago. There's a lot of factors that have changed over the years.

"In terms of preparations, we have been preparing for this for a very long time. We've put a lot of time and effort into how we prepare for every series and that hasn't changed."

There are plenty of question marks surrounding the visitors leading into the Ashes, with the fast-bowling tandem of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood at the top of the list.

While it's not expected that both quicks - who have struggled with fitness over the years - will play in all five matches, Stokes was coy on whether they would link up in Perth.

"It would be exciting, wouldn't it? It's nine days until that first Test match starts, so it's a lot of time for stuff to fall into place or for something to happen," he said.

"It's great to have the X-factor that Jofra and Woody possess in terms of pace.

"Woody has obviously got over his knee surgery that he had quite a while ago, he has overcome that and he's looking really good.

"Jofra's been out of the pack for the past two-and-a-half years now, so it's great seeing those two flying in and sending some fast balls down there."

The other narrative around England is the fact Joe Root has never scored a century on Australian soil, despite being regarded as one of the sport's all-time greats.

Stokes brushed off any criticism of his long-time teammate and believes he will thrive.

"Absolutely - he is the greatest English batter that the nation has seen," Stokes said.

"He's been in phenomenal form over the last two or three years.

"In his words, he's not come out here to score a hundred in Australia - he's come out here to contribute to his team winning.

"I think every Ashes series that I've been a part of, all the war of words between the two nations, starts about two months out from the first Test. I don't think it's been any different, the build-up is always quite hyped up and gets quite spicy."