England captain Ben Stokes recently poked fun at former England fast bowler Steve Harmison’s comments on the team’s preparations for the critical five-match Test series against India, which begins on January 25.
Harmison was perplexed when he learned that England would arrive in India barely three days before the first Test, and he stated that the visitors deserved to be thrashed for their lack of preparation.
Harmison went on to say the following to TalkSport:
“If England arrives three days early, they deserve to be beaten 5-0. They truly do. They’ll say I’m an old guy that times have changed, that the game has changed, but I assure you, preparation has not changed.”
“You cannot enter India unprepared. In reality, you can’t go to India over-prepared; you may be there for six weeks and yet be unprepared for the first Test.”
“I’d want to know what Pietersen, Strauss, and Cook think when they learn England will go to India three days before the series begins. They’d probably laugh at you.”
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Ben took to Twitter to respond to Steve Harmison’s claims that England was going to Abu Dhabi for a camp expressly to train on India’s spin trial
It’s a good thing we’re traveling to Abu Dhabi for a training camp before heading to India for even more preparation before the first test, isn’t it?
The India series might be the most difficult test for Ben Stokes and Company
Under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, the ‘Bazball mentality’ has seen a lot of success at home and even in Pakistan. Many have claimed that India will be their most difficult test, and this is undoubtedly true given the lack of flat batting pitches.
The ability of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and others on turning tracks might be the ‘last frontier’ in terms of Bazball’s ambition.