Former England bowler Chris Woakes has insisted that the media war that has broken out between Ben Stokes and Michael Vaughan has been "blown out of proportion".
In the build-up to The Ashes this winter, there had been criticism of the England squad for not preparing amply enough ahead of the gruelling Test series, that gets underway this week and does not finish until early next year.
With Australia hosting The Ashes this year, England players have only had a couple of weeks to acclimatise to the drastic difference in climate.
Ex-England captain Vaughan lambasted the preparation, as well as fellow legends Ian Botham and Graham Gooch, prompting a strong response from current captain Stokes.
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He blasted the former England stars as 'has-beens', sparking rebuttal from Vaughan in what has seen a mini civil war almost break out in English cricket, much to the delight of the Aussies no doubt.
However, Woakes, who retired from international cricket after failing to recover from a shoulder injury and missing out on The Ashes squad, reckons there has been a lot of hoo-hah over nothing.
Chris Woakes has insisted that the war between Ben Stokes and Michael Vaughan has been blown out of proportion
|PA
Speaking exclusively to GB News, the Warwickshire bowler said: "I think it's a little bit blown out of proportion. Obviously past players are always going to have their say.
"I know Ben called the past players has beens, but I think he didn't necessarily mean it in a derogative way.
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"I think it was just his way of saying past players and a bit of a slip of the tongue I suppose. Only he will know.
"It's just all pre-Ashes talk, isn't it? At the end of the day, 99 per cent of the past players and past England players want England to do well.
"And sometimes it might not necessarily come across that way, but you know, at the end of the day, as soon as you retire, you become a fan.
"We want England to win, so hopefully they can do that."
Ben Stokes reacted furiously to criticism from some of England's best cricket players
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Stokes was named as England Test captain in 2022 and has overseen one Ashes series, a nail-biting 2-2 draw in 2023 where rainy weather largely affected play - including a mesmerising Test in Manchester that, on another day, might have seen England claim victory and win the series.
However, England's history down under is bleak to say the least, having won just twice in the last 38 years - in 1987 and 2011.
In fact, the last time England even managed a win was during that famous 2011 series, captained by Andrew Strauss, who had legendary players such as Alastair Cook, James Anderson, Kevin Pietersen, Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad.
But Woakes reckons Stokes can join Strauss and 1987 captain Mike Gatting in the small club of England captains to make the trip to Australia and lift The Ashes.
The 36-year old added: "I believe we've got a great chance and I think the most important thing for us is obviously keeping our bowlers fit, but we need to keep Ben Stokes fit as well.
"We're a different team when he leads us and he's out on the field with the team rather than when he's not there.
Michael Vaughan hit back at Ben Stokes after he called him a 'has-been'
|PA
"He's a very clever captain, likes to play the game on the front foot. I feel like you need to do that in Australia and he'll be wanting to get over the line as well."
"He hasn't won one of those big series as captain yet either, so he'll be, you know, desperate to get this one over the line as well."
England kickstart their Ashes captain in Perth on Friday (23:30 GMT Thursday) with Australia missing captain Pat Cummins and key bowler Josh Hazlewood, while Mark Wood has been passed fit.