Ashes 2021: England players to call on Ashes on Monday – The future of the Ashes hangs in balance and a decision is all set to be made on Monday with the England players informed of all quarantine and touring conditions in Australia. Joe Root & Co will now have to take a call on whether they chose to travel Down Under, or opt-out of the tour, with a squad set to be announced by next week.
The Ashes kicks off on December 8 and many of England’s stars showed their reluctance to travel, due to strict quarantine conditions preventing their families to travel with them during their 11-week stay.
Ashes 2021 continues to be doubtful, England players to take call today after being informed of quarantine regulations
As per a Daily Mail report, England players could arrive at a decision in terms with the Ashes tour later this year as early as Monday, after being given details on their stay in Australia and the quarantine living conditions they can expect. Joe Root’s squad along with the England Cricket Board (ECB) hierarchy, were given a presentation by Cricket Australia with proposals during the 11-week stay.
Ashes 2021: Why are England players reluctant to tour Australia?
- Australia has some of the strictest COVID-19 restrictions in the world with a mandatory 14-day quarantine period for all incoming travellers including own citizens.
- The restrictions also prevent families of the players to travel with them.
- Joe Root and other England players are not happy with that call.
- ECB has tried to negotiate players’ families on the tour after players gave an ultimatum that they would not tour if family members aren’t allowed.
- As England players will be in bio-bubble in the IPL 2021 and then for the T20 World Cup, they don’t want to spend any more time in bio-bubbles and that too without their closed ones.
- On Monday, the players will take a call on the tour having been informed by the ECB of the exact rules and regulations they will have to follow in Australia.
Ashes 2021: The instructions received on the conference call was the first set of details of the Covid-related restrictions the players had seen, despite Cricket Australia sending the first draft to the ECB on September 24. ECB meanwhile opted to keep that to themselves for 10 days to provide time to push back on certain aspects of the Ashes environment Down Under. Now, the decision has been left to individual discretion, with the players set to take a call whether or not they like the restrictions in place.
The ECB are all set to announce the squad for the Ashes by next week after players come through with their decisions. Joe Root and Co will be without the services of Moeen Ali, who retired, and Jofra Archer who is nursing an injury. Ben Stokes also remains unavailable for an indefinite period for mental health reasons. Previously Joe Root and vice-captain Jos Buttler themselves have paused on declaring their commitment for the Ashes previously and it remains how they react after the presentation.
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Ashes 2021: A 30-player strong squad will travel Down Under alongside an England Lions party with the Test specialists set to fly out early in November. The others, part of the T20 World Cup, arrived in Oman on October 4, where the regulations are slightly relaxed as compared to that in the UAE. Eoin Morgan’s side will fly to UAE next week, with their campaign set to open on October 23 against West Indies.
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