Lord Ian Botham has reopened his war of words with recently retired England captain Ben Stokes. The pair have criticised each other in the media over the past year following England's poor performance in the Ashes in Australia.
Botham criticised England's lack of preparation ahead of the Ashes series last winter, which led Stokes to call him and Michael Vaughan "has-beens". England lost the series 4-1 amid off-the-field issues over late-night drinking sessions and breached curfews.
Asked whether he liked the way Stokes resigned as captain in the middle of a Test match against New Zealand, Botham said: "No, I didn't and I stand by what I said." He argued that England had not prepared properly, pointing to just two and a half days of cricket in the build-up to the Perth Test. Stokes responded that the team had been preparing for years, adding that "there's quite a few factors that play into why we can't prepare how the has-beens maybe prepared in the past."
Speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival to promote his new book, Seasons, Botham said Stokes had let himself down in the final couple of months. He described England going 2-0 down in Australia and a trip to Noosa, one of Australia's most popular holiday spots, during what was meant to be five days off. "Curfews were set and they were broken," he said. Botham also recalled that during the 1986-87 Ashes tour, which England won 2-1, the players were discreet about socialising, even though they were winning.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing