Ben Stokes says criticism of England's preparation is "complete and utter rubbish" ahead of their one-off Test against Zimbabwe later this month.

England have come under scrutiny from former professionals in recent months for their preparation, particularly during the team's torrid white-ball tour of India earlier this year.

England endured a 3-0 whitewash in their ODI series, having also lost four of their five T20Is prior to that.

Following that defeat, England were then knocked out of the Champions Trophy in the group stage after failing to win all three of their matches.

But Stokes, who is fit again after a hamstring injury, defended England's methods ahead of their return to action.

"When you hear comments saying we don't train hard enough, we're more bothered about golf, we don't work hard enough, it's just complete and utter [rubbish]," Stokes told Sky Sports Cricket.

"You're not going to be able to be an international sportsman for a long period of time if you don't have a work ethic, and everyone that walks into the Test team, the white-ball team, their work ethic is incredible.

"They're professional athletes, it's their job.

"There's reasons as to why we do things in the way that we do it, and those reasons are for us to speak about together in the dressing room. There is a reason to everything that we do."

Our new Specialist Skills Consultant

We're delighted to announce that Tim Southee, New Zealand’s all-time leading wicket-taker, is joining us on a short-term basis.

Read more

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 15, 2025

Stokes has been out of action since December when he tore his hamstring in the final Test against New Zealand, a series England won 2-1.

The injury was a recurrence of one he suffered last August that saw him miss four Tests – three against Sri Lanka and one against Pakistan – before getting fit enough to feature against New Zealand.

The Test captain believes he might be returning to the international team fitter than he has been before, having undergone a long rehab period to get back in contention.

"I always work hard," Stokes added. "My ethos when I'm injured is I come back fitter than I was before I got injured.

"I've worked incredibly hard on all aspects of everything, from my cricket to fitness, and know I'm going to be in a position when I am back on the field to potentially be in physically the best possible shape I have been in."

England have also announced that New Zealand's all-time leading wicket-taker, Tim Southee, has joined the ECB as a Specialist Skills Consultant on a short-term basis.

Southee will support England's squads across all formats through to the conclusion of the five-match Test series against India, which ends in early August.

His first involvement will be the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, which begins on May 22 at Trent Bridge.