Lord Botham has claimed England’s Ashes warm-up schedule “borders on arrogance” and is worried they will head into the series underprepared.

Botham, the former England all-rounder, who was part of two Ashes-winning tours in 1978-79 and 1986-87, is concerned about what awaits Ben Stokes’s squad when they begin the first Test in Perth on November 21.

England’s Ashes preparations used to involve playing several warm-up games against state sides and prime minister’s select XIs, with at least two or three first-class matches before the first Test. But this time England will play only one three-day warm-up against the England Lions, their development squad, at Lilac Hill the week before the first Test, which Botham believes is not enough.

The international schedule is increasingly congested and with England playing T20 and ODI series in New Zealand over the next three weeks there was very little time available for other warm-up matches to be inserted. England, however, may not have wanted any further fixtures as there have been concerns over the past few years that the quality of opposition in warm-up games has been very weak.

Speaking on the first episode of Old Boys, New Balls, the new podcast he is hosting with the England rugby union great Sir Bill Beaumont, Botham said: “I’m worried. We’re going to wander in and have a little game with the ‘A’ team.

“[It will be] ‘Alright mate, how are you? Good on ya’ and we’re going to go and perform? Not one [state match] which borders on arrogance. You’ve got to give yourself the chance. They are saying we play too much cricket … I don’t think you play enough.

“The conditions are different when you play cricket in Australia: the sun, the heat, the bounce, the crowd, the Aussie players, you’ve got to get used to all that. You’re not playing against the Australian cricket team, you’re playing against Australia — 24.5 million people.”

Botham is particularly concerned about the condition of the bowling attack, suggesting a cautious approach to workload management can be counterproductive. The paceman Mark Wood has not bowled since having knee surgery before the start of the English summer and Ben Stokes, the captain and all-rounder, has not played since suffering a bicep injury in the fourth Test against India in July.

“Bowlers don’t get fit in gyms, that’s been proven,” Botham said. “Look at the record with injuries — Wood, [Jofra] Archer, Ben Stokes, Brydon Carse … they don’t play enough. You get fit by playing. If it goes horribly wrong, Mark Wood breaks down in the first game, or Jofra Archer does, or Ben can’t bowl, we are suddenly chasing the eight-ball before we’ve started. It’s a worry.”

Stokes and Wood have concerning recent injury records but Carse, their county team-mate at Durham, insisted both will be fit for the Ashes. “I’ve been down to Loughborough in the past couple of weeks, had a couple of nights with them. Ben is looking near enough 100 per cent fit and so is Mark. I’ve been bowling with them,” said Carse, who was speaking at the Professional Cricketers’ Association awards last week.

“It’s exciting to see where they have got to after their setbacks during the summer. They will be raring to go come Australia time.”

Ashes scheduleFirst Test
November 21-November 25
Optus Stadium, PerthSecond Test (day/night)
December 4-December 8
The Gabba, BrisbaneThird Test
December 17-December 21
Adelaide OvalFourth Test
December 26-December 30
Melbourne Cricket GroundFifth Test
January 4-January 8
Sydney Cricket Ground