- England travel to India for a five-Test series next month
- The opening Test in Hyderabad starts on January 25
- England have not won a Test series in India since 2012
There was a shortage of seasonal goodwill between two old friends on Thursday as Ben Stokes was forced to defend England's pre-season tour of India after a blistering strike from Steve Harmison.
The former Durham teammates clashed over England captain Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum's decision to arrive in India just three days before the five-Test series starts in Hyderabad on January 25 and not play any warm-up matches.
It is a continuation of the pair's relaxed attitude to preparation and training, which will see them content to take on one of the toughest assignments in world Test cricket with just a short training camp in Abu Dhabi behind them.
But it is an attitude that has earned a sharp and impassioned rebuke from the former England fast bowler and close friend of Stokes at Harmison, who has become one of cricket's top pundits, partly because he is not afraid to confront those with criticize those he is close to.
“If England come in just three days before the first Test, they should just be beaten 5-0, really,” Harmison said on his excellent talkSPORT podcast with Neil Manthorp.
Ben Stokes has hit back at Steve Harmison's criticism of England's Test preparation for the upcoming tour of India
The former England fast bowler suggested that England were at risk of going to India unprepared
“I'm an old man and they'll say times have changed, the game has changed, but I'll tell you what, the preparation hasn't changed.
'I would have liked to know what Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen, who were in the team that won there in 2012, would think. They would laugh at you.
'I like this new approach but I'm sorry, you would never attend an Ashes series in Australia just three days before the series starts. It's player power, that's all, and that stinks.'
That brought a defensive response from Stokes, who has posted positive updates on social media about his recovery from knee surgery that will leave him unable to bowl during the seven-week tour.
England have not won a series in India since their 2-1 win in 2012-13 (above)
Quoting Harmison, Stokes said: “Well done, we're going to Abu Dhabi for a training camp before heading to India for more training for the first Test, aren't we?”
The attitude of Stokes and McCullum, fully supported by another good friend of Harmison in the form of director Rob Key, has worked well for them so far, but the biggest test will be in India, where England with Lost 3-1 on sharply rotating fields. .
And it's a classic case where it only becomes a problem, just as the players enjoy playing golf and enjoying a full social life, when the results are bad.
But Harmison certainly has a point that this will never happen before the Ashes.
And it is no coincidence that England's best overseas result of the modern era, their 3-1 Ashes victory in 2010-11, came after an intense period of preparation in Australia, during which they played three competitive warm-up matches before the first Test.