It was the day after the knight before. Fresh from spending their previous evening listening to tales of derring-do from the legendary all-rounder Sir Ian Botham over a beer, England held their penultimate training session in Cardiff on Monday before the much-anticipated first Ashes Test with Australia.
Alastair Cook took a long look at his two spin options, the England captain netting against both Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, while fast bowler Stuart Broad struck Gary Ballance in the stomach with a rising delivery. That eye-watering moment was as close as it got to an injury scare and spirits in the camp appear high, despite an on-off afternoon with rain around.
Australia’s session in the morning was equally interrupted, both by the South Wales weather and a visit from the Prince of Wales. A patron of Glamorgan, the prince met with players from both sides and was presented with a shirt by the touring captain, Michael Clarke.
If the experience of his batsman Adam Voges was anything to go by – he and the heir to the throne discussed air travel, apparently – talk was very much of the small variety and certainly when compared to Botham’s chats with the England players on Sunday evening, in an informal drinks evening organised by Andrew Strauss, the director of cricket.
“It was great last night,” said wicketkeeper Jos Buttler, who was quick to spot disparities between a bygone era and the modern day game. “It was like story time with your grandad, really. Everyone sat around and listened to Beefy’s stories about the rockstar life he led. It was quite different, the way he went about it to how our preparation has been. Situations like that arise and you pinch yourself – he is one of the greats.
“I don’t think he warmed up as much as we do. He just had a warm bath in the morning and got straight into his whites. We won’t see any of that this week but that was his preparation. His favourite stories seem to involve rest days in Tests – they sound like the best invention ever.”
Buttler is one of five England players who could face Australia in Test cricket for the first time this week after recovering from the split webbing to his left hand that forced him to miss the final two limited overs games with New Zealand. To help prepare for the biggest series of his life, the 24-year-old last week worked with his predecessor, Matt Prior, who won the Ashes three times.
“I found it invaluable to talk to someone who has been there and done it,” said Buttler. “Matt is probably the best keeper-batsman we’ve had. To pick his brains, both technically and mentally, about wicketkeeping and more specifically Ashes series was a brilliant experience for me.
“He told me that it’s a very intense environment and sometimes it can be tough to get away from it. It’s in the papers more, on the TV more, and he said you have to understand that is how it is but the cricket doesn’t change. You have to enjoy it and embrace the Ashes. It’s something you want to be a part of.”
While one would expect Buttler, given his talent, to be heading into the first of many Ashes series in his England career, at the other end of the spectrum is the Australian right-hander Voges, who at 35 is set to win just his third Test cap after making his debut on the recent tour of the Caribbean.
Voges, a late bloomer who will draw on his vast experience on English soil following five seasons for Nottinghamshire and two spells with Middlesex, is one of nine players in Clarke’s squad into their fourth decade – a statistic that led the Guardian columnist Jason Gillespie to ponder whether the tourists could be physically tested out in the field.
“There’s no point tip-toeing around it, we’ve got a number of guys who are over 30,” said Voges, who became the oldest Test centurion on debut last month with an unbeaten 130 against West Indies in Dominica. “That does bring experience but I think in today’s game we are a lot stronger, a lot fitter, we train more than ever before.
“Physically we are a little bit older but I can’t see that being an issue throughout the series,” he added. “We train incredibly hard and we are all fit guys. If we didn’t think we could get through five Tests we wouldn’t be here.”
Voges is tipping one of his fellow thirtysomethings to fire in the shape of left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, who he claims is now back to his quickest and making net sessions uncomfortable, having struck Shaun Marsh on the finger and left Steve Smith “on his backside” already this tour.
“Our net sessions aren’t much fun at all at the moment to be honest,” said Voges. “He’s got his zip back, he’s bowling fast and he’s swinging them as well. That is the biggest thing with Mitch, there’s always been genuine pace but when he’s swinging it at pace as well then he’s a different proposition.”
