In a packed schedule, England have completed a White-Ball series with New Zealand.
Although they have arranged a string of first-class matches in Australia, perhaps their opposition is unlikely to be strong, given Sheffield Sheffield’s ongoing competition.
Criticism of the build-up from former players on both sides of the Ashes has been divisive.
“Cricket has changed a lot,” Stokes said. “Preparation is not nearly as simple as it used to be. You can go out on a tour two months before the first game starts.
“We’ve been preparing for this tour for the last three weeks, but there’s been a lot of thinking and processing for a few years now. I don’t know what else we hope to do.
“There are some reasons that go into why we can’t prepare how the previous ones were prepared in the past. It’s all changed.
Stokes, 34, has not played since captaining the last Test against India in the summer.
He was brilliant in that series before the injury struck, which came after he put himself through a heavy bowling workload. Injuries have prevented stokes from completing any of the last four test series in England.
However, he has been bowling throughout the training, which he says he has been doing for two months.
In the Australian captains Pat Cummins lost the first test due to a back injury, the fate of the Urn influenced by the field, and said that he is in the series.
“That’s what I’ve been doing for the last three months; make sure I’m fit and strong,” he said.
“When the test series starts, it’s about thinking about the times of others, how much I did, because I built here to get here.”