Ashes 2023: "I Have Never Been Told That" - Head Groundsman Gary Barwell Reacts To Ben Stokes’ Remarks About Wanting Flat Tracks

England Test captain Ben Stokes said that they wanted flat and fast wickets for the upcoming Ashes series against Australia at home. However, the head of sports turf and grounds at Edgbaston Stadium, Gary Barwell, revealed that they never received this request from the team management.

England will host the much-anticipated Ashes 2023 series, which begins on June 16. The Ben Stokes-led team will start their campaign in the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. The team will be hoping to win the Test series following their humiliating 4-0 loss in the Ashes in 2021–22.

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The first Test match of the series is scheduled to be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham on June 16. Gary Barwell confirmed that he was never asked to prepare a flat pitch for the series opener.

“I was on holiday in Miami and I got sent the clip.I can 100% tell you I have never been told that,” Barwell told The Guardian in an interview.

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“I know they want good pitches, that’s all I’ve heard, and I don’t think that’s unusual. I’ve never been asked to produce a pitch for England in all the time I’ve been here. I get asked to produce a good cricket wicket and that’s it,” he further added.

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We Want Fast, Flat Wickets – Ben Stokes

Earlier, Ben Stokes stated that team management asked ground staff to prepare flat and fast pitches in the upcoming Ashes series.

“We’ve been very clear, especially with the ground staff around England, about what type of wickets we want. And they’ve been very responsive to us which has been good,” Ben Stokes said.

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“We want fast, flat wickets. We want to go out there and score quickly. It brings their [Australia’s] guys in, if they’ve got fast wickets to bowl on then they’ll be happy with that as well,” he added.

The England team adopted an aggressive approach under the leadership of captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. The Three Lions have won 11 matches out of 13 Tests. The team won the Test matches in home and away conditions, including the series win against Pakistan.

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