Noel George has reaffirmed the intention to skip this season’s Cheltenham Festival with the very exciting Il Est Francais.

George trains in partnership with Amanda Zetterholm in France and their stable star waltzed away with the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.

Highly regarded types like Hermes Allen and Giovinco were left trailing in his wake as he made every yard of the running under James Reveley, but connections are to stick to their plan of aiming at the French Gold Cup, the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris, this spring rather than Cheltenham.

“He doesn’t have to front run, he’s very easy, he can sit in behind and pass horses but that’s just the speed he’s comfortable at going and the others aren’t comfortable. He’s just a dream horse and I think the sky is the limit with him,” George told Sky Sports Racing.

“He’s potentially the best chaser in the whole of France. He hasn’t stepped up in grade yet but we knew that he was very good.

“We thought about coming to Kempton a year ago and the horse had never even run over fences, but I think it was the right decision to wait and he’s shown everyone how good he is.

“It’s great for everyone involved to show that the top level in France is able to compete with the best level in England.

“The horse came back into training in July, ran in September and was near enough 100 per cent for the whole autumn. If we kept him in training to aim at Cheltenham and then get him back at 100 per cent for the French Gold Cup in May, that’s nearly a whole year having him in full training which I don’t think is the right thing to do.”

He went on: “We still need to discuss it but for me, I’d like to give him a break to make sure he is 100 per cent for a French Gold Cup.

“We’ve got loads of time with this horse, he’s only just turning six and for me, his next real target in England is the King George so there’s no rush, the sky is the limit.

“(Co-owners) Richard Kelvin-Hughes’ dream is to win a Cheltenham Gold Cup and Nicolas Lageneste’s dream is to win a French Gold Cup – if we can achieve both everyone would be very happy.”

Fact To File impressed on his second start over fences in the Ballymaloe Relish Rising Stars Beginners Chase at Leopardstown.

Second in the Champion Bumper in March, Willie Mullins elected to skip a season over hurdles and send him straight over fences, something he has done with a degree of success in the past with the likes of Florida Pearl.

However, he was beaten on his initial run over the bigger obstacles by Gordon Elliott’s American Mike and appeared to face some classy rivals this time in stablemate Minella Cocooner and Zanahiyr, both big-race winners over hurdles.

Galopin Des Champs and Gentlemansgame had won the corresponding race for the past two seasons and Fact To File went off the 4-6 favourite to follow in their footsteps, doing so with aplomb, beating Zanahiyr by 17 lengths under Mark Walsh.

“He has Cheltenham bumper form from last year. He looks like a chaser, he certainly looked like one there, so we decided to skip his novice hurdle year and just go straight chasing,” said Mullins.

“Today is the reason that I hoped we’d be right.

“He’s a horse I’ve loved since the first day he came into the stable. I think he could go the whole way, with a bit of luck – you need a lot of luck in this game.”

Mullins’ Jade De Grugy was cut to 14-1 from 33s for the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham following an impressive Irish debut in the Savills Maiden Hurdle.

Despite 16 runners, only two were ever involved, with Tom Cooper’s Butcher Hollow going with the eventual winner all the way to the second-last when her superiority took over and the 5-4 favourite pulled 15 lengths clear.

Paul Townend was on board and said: “She’s exciting, she did it nicely. I thought we built up down the back the second time and she stayed going well.

“She obviously stays well, the ground is testing there, and she has a lovely attitude. She jumped well and did everything nicely.

“I was going easy so I felt like I was dictating it a bit. I jumped one well down the back and Sean (Flanagan) came with me and pushed me from the last down the back from there home.”

Rachael Blackmore certainly earned her riding fee on Music Of Tara (7-2 favourite) who went two better than last year in the Irish Daily Star Handicap Hurdle.

Third behind Sam’s Choice 12 months ago, the Henry de Bromhead-trained mare was under pressure a long way from home but stayed on strongly to win by two lengths.

“I thought we were in trouble turning in, but she stayed on really well. She just doesn’t really travel, but she’s a really gutsy mare and Rachael was brilliant on her,” said De Bromhead.

“I’m delighted for the Achesons and the Shanahans (owners), it’s great to get it. We said we’d have a go at this and it’s nice when it works out.

“We might look at a Pertemps qualifier. She has to go left-handed, that’s one thing we have worked out.

“She looked all out turning in, but going to the last I thought by Rachael’s actions that she knew she had a fair chance.”

Gavin Cromwell’s Flooring Porter is backed to benefit from a return to a left-handed track when he lines up for the Neville Hotels Novice Chase at Leopardstown on Friday.

The eight-year-old is twice the winner of the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and started his chasing career earlier this season.

His debut over fences was a success at Cheltenham in October, where he beat Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Broadway Boy by two and half lengths to land a novice chase over three miles and half a furlong.

His next outing came at Punchestown in the Florida Pearl, where he drifted left around the right-handed track and was eventually inconvenienced by a loose horse in finishing third.

Cromwell expects Flooring Porter to be happier back on a left-handed track and is happy to put a line through that last run.

“He’s back going left-handed, he’s very well,” the trainer said.

“The ground is going to be very testing, but he should be fine on it and I’m looking forward to it.

“It was just one of the those races (Punchestown) to put a line through and forget about going into tomorrow.”

Meanwhile Broadway Boy has done a great deal to boost the form of his and Flooring Porter’s earlier encounter, winning twice more back at Cheltenham with two impressive performances.

Cromwell said of those runs: “I was glad to see him do so well, it makes it interesting for our horse.”

A key rival at Leopardstown will be the Emmet Mullins-trained Corbetts Cross, another horse with two chasing runs under his belt this term.

Third on debut at Naas behind Grangeclare West and Heart Wood, the chestnut was then the winner of a competitive beginners’ chase at Fairyhouse when beating Three Card Brag to get off to mark over the larger obstacles.

The six-year-old now steps up in trip and grade under Mark Walsh in the silks of owner JP McManus.

Frank Berry, racing manager to McManus, said: “He’s in good form and Emmet’s happy with him.

“He’s stepping up to three miles over fences and we hope that will suit him.

“He’ll have learnt a lot from that last run and hopefully will have come forward for it, we’re looking forward to seeing him run.”

The Willie Mullins-trained Grangeclare West comes into the race in winning form having not run since the Naas contest in which he beat Corbetts Cross.

Favori De Champdou, winner of the Florida Pearl, will represent Gordon Elliott and Noel Meade runs Flanking Maneuver in the same silks of Gigginstown House Stud.

The field is completed by Tullyhogue Fort, a seven-year-old who has been busy all through the summer and into the new season.

Noni Madueke believes Chelsea have finally found answers to the goalscoring problems that plagued them last season.

The England Under-21 international came off the bench to fire Mauricio Pochettino’s side to a 2-1 win at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, slotting the winner from the penalty spot in the 89th minute after being fouled by Eberechi Eze.

Earlier Michael Olise, who nearly became a Chelsea player in the summer, had equalised on the stroke of half-time after the hosts had failed to build on Mykhailo Mudryk’s 13th-minute opener.

There were chances for Mudryk, Nicolas Jackson and Ian Maatsen on his first start to add to the hosts’ tally but a combination of wayward finishing and Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson kept Roy Hodgson’s side in it, until Madueke’s late intervention.

Chelsea netted only 38 Premier League goals last campaign, their lowest in the league in almost a century, but already have 31 at the halfway stage this time around.

They have been boosted by the return to fitness of last season’s Bundesliga top-scorer Christopher Nkunku who made a full debut against Palace and was a threat at number 10.

And Madueke feels confident that a corner has been turned.

“We play good football and are scoring goals now,” said the 21-year-old. “I remember last season we weren’t scoring those goals.

“We’re probably conceding a few too many, but I just feel it’s that consistency we need to get down. Once we do, we’ll be a really good team.

“We’ve had some very good performances this season where we haven’t got the rub of the green. It’s a process and where we are now will not define us come the end of the season.”

It was Chelsea’s third league win in a row at home and their fourth in all competitions, though that run has been cut with a streak of four consecutive away losses.

It is their longest sequence of victories at Stamford Bridge since October 2022 and saw them climb back into the top half of the table.

“(This) was a must-win game,” said Madueke. “There have been similar games in the season that we should have won and haven’t quite got the rub of the green, so I’m happy we’ve done the business and got the three points.”

Madueke also reflected on his impact from the bench having been handed just his eighth league appearance or the season, of which only one has been from the start.

He added: “It’s been a stop-start campaign for me. I’ve had little niggles, little injuries, things that haven’t quite gone my way.

“I’m happy to have an impact off the bench (against Palace) and whether I start the next game or have the same impact off the bench is up to the manager.”

Daryl Jacob is extremely excited to be given the opportunity to ride Impaire Et Passe in the Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown on Friday.

Only four are due to go to post in the two-mile Grade One, and three of those are trained by Willie Mullins.

It is an event Mullins has farmed in recent years – since 2010 he has won all bar three renewals, with Hurricane Fly and Sharjah winning four apiece.

Last year the champion trainer was successful with State Man and he lines up once more as the choice of Paul Townend.

That meant the ride on last year’s hugely impressive Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle winner Impaire Et Passe was free and as retained rider to owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede in the UK, Jacob was in pole position.

Impaire Et Passe lost his unbeaten record on his seasonal return in the Hatton’s Grace, and Mullins has taken the decision to drop him in trip to two miles. But Jacob feels the testing ground will make it more of a stamina test.

“I’m very much looking forward to riding him. He’s a very exciting horse for Simon and Isaac and everyone and this is another step on the ladder for him,” said Jacob.

“He’s racing over two miles for the first time in a while, but I’ve been in Ireland all week and there has been a lot of rain.

“The hurdle course on Wednesday went soft then heavy, but he has handled that sort of ground, he’s won over further and he has got speed.

“He’s a hugely exciting horse and I’m very grateful for the opportunity, I can’t wait to ride him.

“I rode him out on Thursday morning, he seems in really good form and I really don’t see the ground being an issue at all.”

Jacob has enjoyed a particularly fruitful spell of late and is operating at a strike-rate of over 40 per cent for the past two weeks, and he would love to top it off with a Grade One.

“I’ve had a nice few winners of late, but a Grade One win before the new year would be lovely,” he said.

Understandably given his choice, Townend feels State Man sets the standard given the only horse who has finished in front of him when he has completed since joining Mullins is Constitution Hill.

He told his Ladbrokes blog: “He seems to set the standard this side of the water. His only defeat was by Constitution Hill last year. It’s interesting he’s being taken on by Impaire Et Passe.

“I thought Impaire Et Passe ran with a lot of credit in the Hatton’s Grace in Fairyhouse. He has a run under his belt and State Man won the Morgiana.

“It’s a big test, but State Man played at the top table all last season and sets the standard. The pair are sure to make a good race of it.”

Mullins also runs the mare Echoes In Rain, while Gordon Elliott’s Fils D’oudairies is the only other contender.

A village resident has told of houses in states of “absolute disaster” after a “localised tornado” hurtled through a town in Greater Manchester.

Strong gusts whipped through Stalybridge, in Tameside, on Wednesday, damaging around 100 properties, according to the council.

No injuries were reported but many residents were forced to leave their homes.

Hayley McCaffer, who lives with her partner in the village of Carrbrook, told the PA news agency that they have been “fairly lucky” compared with some of their neighbours.

Ms McCaffer, 40, said: “Some of the neighbours’ houses are an absolute disaster – the roof missing, gable ends gone, cars squished with all the stone that’s come off the houses.

“Luckily for us, very luckily, we were in the pub last night when it happened.

“We weren’t here, but also we had parked our car there and looking at the state of our driveway – one of the walls has come down – we were very lucky that it wasn’t parked there because it would have not been in a good state today.”

She said she was alerted to the “tornado” by a phone call from her mother, who lives locally and whose roof was partially ripped off by winds before parts landed on her car.

Emergency services were cordoning off the area when Ms McCaffer and her partner arrived back at their home, and they allowed them to enter and collect some essentials.

“It was dark so we could see big piles of debris and people’s bits of houses missing,” she told PA.

She and her partner were “evacuated” and remain unsure when they will be able to get back into their home.

“But we were safe and that was the main thing,” she added.

“We’ve got insurance, hopefully that will be covered.

“And, you know, when things like this happen, there’s lots of people who are worse off than us, so we can’t really complain too much.”

Patricia Watkinson, who also lives in Carrbrook, was away in Norfolk when gusts swept through the village but was told by a neighbour that apart from a “dangling” aerial her home appears undamaged.

The 83-year-old told the PA news agency: “I’m glad I wasn’t there.

“My neighbour, she just rang me, and her shed is gone and the fence is gone. Hopefully, all that is wrong with mine is the aerial dangling.”

Steven Naismith praised Hearts goalkeeper Zander Clark for “a brilliant year” and for the way he has dealt with the increased pressure of having stalwart Craig Gordon pushing him for a starting place recently.

The 31-year-old former St Johnstone stopper made his debut for the Jambos a year ago and marked his 50th appearance with a penalty save and an 18th clean sheet in all competitions since taking the gloves as Hearts pulled off a dramatic 1-0 win at city rivals Hibernian on Wednesday.

Clark stepped in after Gordon suffered a double-leg break on Christmas Eve last year at a time when he was established number one for both Hearts and Scotland.

With the 40-year-old having made a remarkable recovery and forced himself back into contention for involvement in the matchday squad this month, Naismith paid tribute to Clark for the way he has coped with the spectre of such a highly-regarded goalkeeper breathing down his neck.

“I think there has been pressure put on externally,” said the Hearts boss. “I have been consistent with what I’ve said: Zander is a top goalie who has had a brilliant year.

“The circumstance he is dealing with is that there is a legend of the club, an unbelievable goalie, who is back fit.

“That is competition for places but it isn’t easy to deal with, especially as a goalie when there is only one position.

“But Zander has dealt with it perfectly. He is a top goalie. He took his chance a year ago, he’s come in and made his Scotland debut and he’s made a massive impact for us (against Hibs).”

Clark has kept 10 clean sheets in 19 league matches this term, underpinning Hearts’ recent surge to third place in the cinch Premiership.

Apart from free-scoring Lawrence Shankland, who snatched a stoppage-time winner on Wednesday with his 16th strike of the campaign, Hearts have struggled to get their forwards firing.

Asked how he would deal with the departure of the talismanic Scotland forward if he was to be sold in January, the manager said: “That’s part and parcel of football.

“I would want to get to a point where if a player leaves or you get a bad injury, you have a list there you can comfortably go at.

“We had it with Josh Ginnelly in the summer, who was a big part of last season for me. He moved on and we had to make different signings. When players go out of the team it creates an opportunity for someone else.

“I was at Kilmarnock when Kris Boyd scored all our goals. He went to Rangers in the January and everybody’s saying ‘what’s going to happen now?’ but me and Colin Nish stepped up and scored goals.

“It happens at every club. No matter who leaves, an opportunity arises for someone else.

“I’m comfortable with our squad. I think we’ve got a good squad. (Kenneth) Vargas, (Yutaro) Oda and (Kyosuke) Tagawa are still young.

“They have good moments and they have moments that can be better. But I think over time they can bring real quality to the squad. I’m comfortable with it all.”

Michael Schumacher’s one-time rival Damon Hill has described the German’s plight as a “terrible tragedy” and a reminder to “treasure every day”.

On Friday, it will mark 10 years since Schumacher’s skiing accident in the French Alps where he hit his head on a rock and suffered a near-fatal brain injury.

Schumacher, now 54, has been kept out of public view ever since, with only a handful of visitors allowed inside the family home near Lake Geneva in Switzerland where he is receiving round-the-clock medical care.

The former Ferrari and Benetton driver claimed the first of his seven world championships following a controversial season finale in Adelaide in 1994 where he was accused of ramming Hill off the road.

Reflecting on Schumacher’s condition, Hill, 63, told the PA news agency: “It is a terrible tragedy. This is not how you want anyone to end up.

“It makes you treasure every day and be thankful for your good fortune. I think about his family. It is so hard for them.”

Updates regarding Schumacher’s health have been few and far between, and a representative for the family told PA that there are no plans to acknowledge the anniversary of his accident.

His wife Corinna, offered a rare insight on her husband’s state in a Netflix documentary in 2021.

“I miss Michael every day,” said Corinna, who has enforced a wall of secrecy to protect one of the biggest names in modern sporting times.

“But it is not just me who misses him. It’s the children, the family, his father, everyone around him. I mean, everybody misses Michael, but Michael is here.

“Different, but he’s here, and that gives us strength. We’re together. We live together at home. We do therapy. We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure he’s comfortable. And to simply make him feel our family, our bond.

“‘Private is private’, as he always said. It’s very important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life as much as possible. Michael always protected us and now we are protecting Michael.”

Schumacher added to the two titles he won at Benetton with five championship triumphs for Ferrari at the turn of the century, posting a series of records many viewed as untouchable.

Lewis Hamilton has since matched Schumacher’s collection of titles and surpassed his 91 wins. Hamilton, 38, who is contracted to drive for Mercedes until the end of 2025, has 103 victories.

Schumacher’s son, Mick, is currently a reserve driver for Hamilton’s Mercedes team having spent two seasons with Haas before he was dropped at the end of last year.

Defender Kyle Walker insists Manchester City have now drawn a line under their stellar achievements in 2023 and have set their sights on a strong second half to the season.

Capturing the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia last week “finished the piece” in Walker’s eyes in a year when a first Champions League title followed Premier League and FA Cup triumphs, with the UEFA Super Cup added for good measure in August.

Questions have been asked about whether Pep Guardiola’s side are lacking something this season after a run of one win in six Premier League matches, but the come-from-behind 3-1 win at Everton showed they are a long way from giving up on their title defence.

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And Walker believes with 20 matches still to come, trailing leaders Liverpool by five points, now is when City will come into their own.

“On the back of winning the Champions League we desperately wanted to win (in Saudi) and finish off the piece. It was good to go and finally tick that off the list,” said the 33-year-old.

“It’s important now to draw a line under it and it’s a big end to the season when we’re in the competition we want to fight for again.

“I don’t think there was many things going wrong on the field except the results. We were playing well, but this game is about winning and we weren’t doing that.

“But that’s football and in the Premier League you can never let your guard down, you’ve got to keep going until the last minute.”

The winning mentality of City’s players is one thing which is not in question after the consistency they have shown over several seasons and that was in evidence again at Goodison Park after falling behind to the Toffees’ first attempt on goal in the first half despite dominating.

Brilliant goals from the impressive Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva either side of a Julian Alvarez penalty turned things around to move City back into the top four and set their sights on the summit again.

“I think it shows the determination and belief in this squad. That’s what this team is all about, digging in, not quitting,” added Walker.

“We’re all good players, we can all play out there, but when the going gets tough it’s about a collective team performance that gets each individual if they’ve made a mistake or they’re doing well, to get you out of that stuff.”

Foden’s performance, playing centrally, was certainly a major factor in the turnaround and not just because of his goal.

In the extended absence of Kevin De Bruyne, who is edging closer to a comeback after a hamstring injury sustained in August, City have at times lacked that creative spark and the England international is one who can give them that.

“Phil’s unbelievable, the talent that boy possesses is incredible, but with this manager and this team and the calibre of players we’ve got, Phil needs to do it week in and week out,” said Walker.

“I think this season he’s really come into his own and took the responsibility on, where we’re missing Kevin or Gundo or Riyad (departed duo Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez).

“But I’m not patting him on the back. He needs to keep doing what he’s doing because I think the sky is the limit for him.

“Resting on a couple of good games is not going to put you in that calibre of the best footballers in the world.

“He’s got the potential, he needs to make sure the drive is still there, he keeps concentrating, keeps putting in the performances that he is doing.”

Wolves boss Gary O’Neil hopes Hwang Hee-chan will be fit to face Everton on Saturday despite going off injured at Brentford.

Hwang hit two first-half goals in the 4-1 win in west London but limped off before half-time with a back problem.

The 27-year-old has scored 10 Premier League goals this season, although Wolves will miss him for up to four matches when he jets off with South Korea for the Asia Cup next month.

“It’s just a back spasm, he’ll be fine for the Asia Cup. Hopefully we can get him back for our game against Everton as well,” said O’Neil.

“We’ll see. It’s a tight turnaround but it was only a back spasm and he’s moving a bit better than he was when he came off. Let’s see how he does over the next couple of days.

“It’s 10 goals for him now, so an unbelievable return. But I do have big faith in everybody, whether we have to play someone else or whether we have to use some of the under-23s or under-21s who are already on the bench then no problem.”

Mario Lemina and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde were also on target at the Gtech Stadium as Brentford imploded defensively.

Yoane Wissa pulled one back but the return of Ivan Toney following his suspension for breaking betting rules, likely to be at home to Nottingham Forest on January 20, cannot come soon enough with the Bees hovering just four points above the relegation zone.

“I think either if we were number one in the league, bottom or mid-table, we would look forward to getting Ivan back,” said boss Thomas Frank.

“It’s getting closer. We had an in-house game the other day and he scored two goals. I looked at him and he looked pretty good. It will be just like a new signing.”

Cheltenham and Newbury are two possible ports of call for Shishkin following his following his luckless run in the King George VI Chase at Kempton.

The nine-year-old was leading the field after jumping the penultimate fence in the Boxing Day highlight, only to stumble a couple of strides after the obstacle and unseat Nico de Boinville.

That was Shishkin’s first run of the campaign after he refused to start at Ascot in November and trainer Nicky Henderson felt he would have been staying on all the way to the line were it not for his mishap.

He said: “Shishkin is fine. I was a bit concerned that he might have hit something and occurred some damage but he doesn’t appear to have done so I’m 100 per cent happy on that front. It was just one of those things I guess.

“I’m not going to say he would have won, but the consensus of opinion is that he probably would have done as he wasn’t stopping.

“He was really coming up at every fence, and he seemed to be travelling well. I’m pretty sure he would have kept on galloping as he galloped all the way to the line at Aintree.

“Our biggest concern was that he hadn’t had a run. When he has not had a run he controls us, but we are now in control as he has got that run under his belt and he will be a much easier horse to train.”

Shishkin was having just his second start at three miles at Kempton, having previously delivered eight chase victories up to two miles and five furlongs, including the 2021 Arkle, the 2022 Clarence House Chase and the 2023 Ascot Chase.

Henderson switched Shishkin to three miles and a furlong for the Aintree Bowl back in April and he has the Paddy Power Cotswold Chase (January 27) and the Betfair Denman Chase (February 10) over staying trips on his mind.

The trainer said: “I don’t know what to do at the moment and we are just mulling it over. I don’t think we will come back in trip for the Ascot Chase, even though he did win that last year.

“You have got the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham and the Denman Chase at Newbury and they are the only two real possibilities for him before the Gold Cup.

“It will either be one of them, or none of them, but what he needs is experience and a nice clear round.”

While Shishkin was out of luck at Kempton, Jango Baie ensured the team did secure Grade One glory in the Formby Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree.

Previously run as the Tolworth at Sandown in January, the rescheduled and renamed contest produced a fine finish as Jango Baie held off Favour And Fortune by just under three lengths in the hands of James Bowen.

Henderson could now look to edge up in distance from an extended two miles with the four-year-old, as the trainer has strength in depth in the novice hurdle sphere with the likes of Jeriko Du Reponet and Willmount taking high order.

“It was great for James Bowen to get his first Grade One as he is a big part of the team here at Seven Barrows. He deserved it and so did the horse, while it was great to get a Grade One for his connections,” said Henderson.

“I’d like to see him run over a little bit further as I’m not sure that trip was far enough for him at Aintree.

“I’ve got a couple of other nice prospects to run this weekend, so we will see what they do then we will make a plan.”

Ben Stokes has hit back at Steve Harmison’s criticism of England’s Test preparation for the forthcoming tour of India.

Ex-England seamer Harmison, a former Durham team-mate and close friend of Stokes, believes that arriving in India just three days before the start of a five-match series is a recipe for disaster.

He claimed the tourists would “deserve to get beat 5-0” without spending longer acclimatising to conditions, drawing a curt response from the England captain.

Stokes replied to a video of Harmison’s comments, saying: “Good job we’re going to Abu Dhabi for a training camp before we go to India for even more training before that 1st test then isn’t it.”

England, who lost 3-1 in their previous Indian tour on spinning pitches, do not have any warm-up fixtures scheduled but hope to tune up for the series opener on January 25 with a week-long workout in the United Arab Emirates.

Harmison suggested that approach was insufficient, telling talkSPORT: “If England go in three days before they deserve to get beat 5-0, they really do.

“I’m an old man, that’s what they’ll say…times have changed, but preparation hasn’t changed. I love this new approach, I love Ben Stokes and (head coach) Brendon McCullum. But I’m sorry, going three days before…you’d never do that for an Ashes series.

“You’d never go to Australia three days before the Gabba, so why go three days before Hyderabad? For me it stinks, it absolutely stinks.”

Stokes, meanwhile, is racing to be fully fit for the first Test.

He underwent surgery on his longstanding left knee injury at the end of November and has been chronicling his rehabilitation with a sequence of videos on Instagram.

England are not expecting him to feature as a bowler but even having him available to bat pain-free would represent an improvement on recent times.

Posting from the gym on Wednesday, he wrote: “massive progress for the week”, “muscle symmetry coming back” and “finally able to get into the flexion needed for a spin on the bike, for something normally so easy it was very pleasing to be able to do [it] today”

Fastorslow will miss the Savills Chase at Leopardstown due to the testing ground.

Martin Brassil’s charge was due to clash with fellow staying heavyweights Galopin Des Champs and Gerri Colombe in a blockbuster renewal of the extended three-mile contest.

However, after 11 millimetres of rain in the last 24 hours, the ground at Leopardstown is now described as soft, soft to heavy in places – prompting Brassil to rethink running plans.

Fastorslow would have been meeting Galopin Des Champs for a third successive start, having beaten him in both the Punchestown Gold Cup at the end of last season and in last month’s John Durkan Chase on the pair’s respective seasonal bows.