The simmering feud between great England all-rounders has bubbled over once more, with Ian Botham saying Ben Stokes “let himself down” in the final months of his Test career.

Botham, 70, and Stokes, 35, were previously on good terms – Botham was chairman of Stokes’s county, Durham – until late last year. But their relationship deteriorated when Stokes, then England captain, dismissed criticism of his team’s slim preparation programme from the likes of Botham as being from “has-beens”, although he later apologised and said he had misspoken.

Botham took umbrage with the comments and this summer welcomed Stokes to the “has-beens” club when he retired from international duty in June.

Stokes’s retirement came at the end of a chaotic month that saw him sit out a Test at the Oval having stayed out beyond midnight after the win over New Zealand at Lord’s, breaching a curfew he had helped introduce. It was revealed however in a disciplinary meeting to not have been properly codified. Stokes played one more match, but retired 15 minutes before tea on the fourth day, with England going on to lose. Botham has been fiercely critical all summer of Stokes’s night out in London, saying “some people just don’t learn.”

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Botham was interviewed at the Cheltenham Literary Festival this weekend as part of the promotional tour for his new book, Seasons. Asked whether he liked the way Stokes retired mid-match against New Zealand, he said: “No, I didn’t and I stand by what I said.

“You have got a situation, starting from the beginning when he had a go at myself and Michael Vaughan in Melbourne [sic: Perth] because we said they had not prepared properly.

“They played two and a half days of cricket in the build-up to taking on Australia in Perth.

“But to be absolutely honest with you, we had a go at them saying that’s ridiculous, no one knows what they are doing, the slip fielders have to practice, very, very difficult.”

Botham won the Ashes down under in 1978-79 and 1986-87, and criticised England’s players for their conduct on this winter’s tour, which was lost 4-1.

“So that’s open warfare and I’m quite happy with that because I just think he let himself down,” Botham said.

“He’s a bloody good cricketer and he played well but he let himself down in those final couple of months.

“The team going 2-0 down in Australia, one of them in two days.

“For me to be then seen at Noosa, one of the most popular places in Australia to holiday and we have got five days off on the lash.

“I just thought that was poor. Curfews, well, they were set and they were broken.

“In the book, I just said that right at the end, a throwaway line, ‘Well, well, well, Ben Stokes, you are now a member of the has-been team’.

“Didn’t go down too well, not that I’m bothered.”