Captain Ben Stokes has strongly defended England's unorthodox preparation for the Ashes as they aim to break a 14-year winless run in Australia.

England will head into the first Test at Optus Stadium in Perth, starting on November 21, having not played a warm-up game against any Australian opposition.

The tourists have settled on a three-day match against the England Lions, essentially an England A team, starting on Thursday at Lilac Hill.

That decision has drawn criticism from Ashes greats on both sides such as Ian Healy, Ian Botham, and Geoffrey Boycott.

But Stokes believes England's preparation would be more than sufficient to win a Test in Australia for the first time since they last won an away Ashes series back in 2011.

"There's obviously state cricket going on at the moment," Stokes told reporters in Perth on Wednesday.

"Time has got to be taken into consideration as well.

"Some of our squad members were playing the (white-ball) series in New Zealand.

"The schedule is pretty jam-packed to be able to prepare how teams probably would have done 10,15, 20, 30 years ago.

"We put a lot of time and effort into how we prepare for every series, and that hasn't changed with this one.

"Come the 21st of this month, we know that we would have done everything possible that we could have done."

Stokes and fellow veteran, star batter Joe Root, have never won a Test in Australia, with no survivors left from the 2010-11 series win.

Australia have won 5-0, 4-0, and 4-0 the last three times England have travelled for the Ashes.

Root is also desperate to shrug off his underwhelming record in Australia, having not scored a century in 14 Tests.

"He's the greatest English batter that the nation's seen," Stokes said.

"He's been a phenomenal form over the last two, three years.

"He's not come out here to score a 100 in Australia, he's come out here to contribute to the team."

Stokes has urged his team not to be daunted by playing in Australia.

"Coming to Australia for the Ashes is a lot different than anything else when you're playing," he said.

"There's a lot more that goes on away from the cricket itself.

"It's just making everyone aware that's the case but making sure it's nothing to be afraid of, nothing to be scared of, and don't shy away from it."