{"id":520942,"date":"2025-10-23T01:04:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T01:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/520942\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T01:04:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T01:04:20","slug":"aussie-cricket-identity-backs-england-captain-ben-stokes-to-fire-ahead-of-the-ashes-in-unbelievable-condition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/520942\/","title":{"rendered":"Aussie cricket identity backs England captain Ben Stokes to fire ahead of the Ashes &#8211; &#8216;in unbelievable condition&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"mol-bullets-with-font\">\n<li class=\"class\"><strong>Ryan Campbell impressed by Ben Stokes<\/strong><\/li>\n<li class=\"class\"><strong>Aussie, 53, coaches Stokes at Durham<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"author-section byline-plain\">By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/profile-145\/andrew-prentice.html\" class=\"author\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ANDREW PRENTICE, SPORT REPORTER, AUSTRALIA<\/a> <\/p>\n<p class=\"byline-section\"> Published:  20:28 EDT, 22 October 2025   |  Updated:  20:37 EDT, 22 October 2025   <\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Former Australian star Ryan Campbell has backed England captain <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/ben-stokes\/index.html\" id=\"mol-a9c79470-afa1-11f0-99f8-7f5b46d8697b\" rel=\"noopener\">Ben Stokes<\/a>\u00a0to fire ahead of <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/ashes\/index.html\" id=\"mol-a9cd39c0-afa1-11f0-99f8-7f5b46d8697b\" class=\"class\" rel=\"noopener\">the Ashes<\/a>, declaring the all-rounder is &#8216;in unbelievable condition.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">It comes ahead of the first Test in <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/perth\/index.html\" id=\"mol-a9c06880-afa1-11f0-99f8-7f5b46d8697b\" rel=\"noopener\">Perth<\/a> on November 21.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Campbell, who made five international appearances and was a mainstay for <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/western-australia\/index.html\" id=\"mol-a9c0ddb0-afa1-11f0-99f8-7f5b46d8697b\" rel=\"noopener\">Western Australia<\/a> as an opening batsman, also has no doubt Stokes, 34, will be &#8216;100 per cent fit&#8217; to bowl when needed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;The man works harder than anyone I have ever seen,&#8217; the Durham coach told SportsBoom.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;I played my whole career with the likes of <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/justin-langer\/index.html\" id=\"mol-a9ca0570-afa1-11f0-99f8-7f5b46d8697b\" rel=\"noopener\">Justin Langer<\/a>, Damien Martyn, Adam Gilchrist and Michael Hussey in <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/australia-cricket\/index.html\" id=\"mol-a9c4ae40-afa1-11f0-99f8-7f5b46d8697b\" class=\"class\" rel=\"noopener\">Australia<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;They were all hard workers, but Stokes goes above and beyond those guys.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-59a603224ce4e951\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/103234403-15218513-image-m-36_1761177597230.jpg\" height=\"946\" width=\"634\" alt=\"Former Australian star Ryan Campbell has backed England captain Ben Stokes ahead of the Ashes, declaring the all-rounder is in 'unbelievable condition'\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">Former Australian star Ryan Campbell has backed England captain Ben Stokes ahead of the Ashes, declaring the all-rounder is in &#8216;unbelievable condition&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-d4cdd322eb978114\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/103234417-15218513-image-m-38_1761177649815.jpg\" height=\"881\" width=\"634\" alt=\"Campbell, who was a mainstay for Western Australia as an opening batsman at his peak (pictured), also has no doubt Stokes will be '100 per cent' to bowl when needed\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">Campbell, who was a mainstay for Western Australia as an opening batsman at his peak (pictured), also has no doubt Stokes will be &#8216;100 per cent&#8217; to bowl when needed<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-b26fbb976bc4eff9\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/103234387-15218513-image-m-40_1761177698235.jpg\" height=\"1082\" width=\"634\" alt=\"England have not won the Ashes on Australian soil since 2010-11, but the tourists are said to be supremely confident (pictured, is Ben Stokes after a recent Test against India)\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">England have not won the Ashes on Australian soil since 2010-11, but the tourists are said to be supremely confident (pictured, is Ben Stokes after a recent Test against India)<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;He leaves no stone unturned to make sure he is ready to go.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Campbell &#8211; <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" class=\"class\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/au\/article-10729993\/Fit-fiddle-ex-Australian-Test-cricketer-Ryan-Campbell-heart-attack.html\" rel=\"noopener\">who survived a heart attack in 2022 <\/a>&#8211; added that Stokes is currently in\u00a0&#8216;unbelievable condition.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;I think he will play a major part in the Ashes,&#8217; he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;All-rounders (like Stokes) are a prized possession in world cricket. England has one of the greatest of all time.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Born in Perth, Campbell carved out an impressive first-class career before going on to coach in Hong Kong and the Netherlands before joining Durham.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">England have not won the Ashes on Australian soil since 2010-11, but the tourists are said to be supremely confident.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Sir Ian Botham isn&#8217;t on the same page, with the English cricket great stating his nation&#8217;s <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" class=\"class\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/cricket\/article-15193063\/Cricket-legend-Kerry-OKeeffe-delivers-ominous-prediction-Nathan-Lyon-Ashes.html\" rel=\"noopener\">warm-up schedule for the blockbuster series &#8216;borders on arrogance&#8217;.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;We are going to wander in and have a little game with the &#8216;A&#8217; team,&#8217; Botham recently said on the Old Boys, New Balls podcast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;Not one (state match), which (for me) borders on arrogance.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;You&#8217;ve got to give yourself the chance. They are saying we play too much cricket. I don&#8217;t think we play enough.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;The conditions are different when you play in Australia \u2014 the sun, the heat, the bounce, the crowd and the Aussie players \u2014 you&#8217;ve got to get used to all that.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>                    Share or comment on this article:<br \/>\n                        Aussie cricket identity backs England captain Ben Stokes to fire ahead of the Ashes &#8211; &#8216;in unbelievable condition&#8217;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ryan Campbell impressed by Ben Stokes Aussie, 53, coaches Stokes at Durham By ANDREW PRENTICE, SPORT REPORTER, AUSTRALIA&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":520943,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5008],"tags":[23382,748,1406,92,393,4884,93,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-520942","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-england","8":"tag-ashes","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-cricket","11":"tag-dailymail","12":"tag-england","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-sport","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115420797025917656","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520942\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}