England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Monday (October 4) announced that the board will hold final talks later this week to decide whether this winter's Ashes 2021-22 can go ahead after the players were shown details of the COVID-19 protocols for the Australia tour.
In a statement issued on Monday, the ECB said that it had been in discussions with England players and management and is set to meet later this week to decide whether the Ashes tour take place or not.
England’s players were shown details of the Australian COVID protocols over the weekend for the Ashes tour and it is being said the ECB gained some compromises from Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian government, including quarantining on arrival in a resort on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
ECB said in an official statement on Monday, “Over the weekend we have been talking to England men’s players and management to provide them with the latest information about the proposed arrangements for this winter’s scheduled Ashes tour.”
It added, “We remain in regular and positive dialogue with Cricket Australia over these arrangements as the picture is constantly evolving. With health and wellbeing at the forefront, our focus is to ensure the tour can go ahead with conditions for players and management to perform at their best. We will continue talking to our players this week to share the latest information and seek feedback.”
The statement concluded, “Later this week the ECB Board will meet to decide whether the conditions in place are sufficient for the Tour to go ahead and enable the selection of a squad befitting a series of this significance.”
Noteworthy, the reports also suggested that up to 10 England players are considering pulling out of the Australia tour due to fears over quarantine for themselves and their families and bio-bubbles during the tour, which is expected to begin on December 8 with the first Test in Brisbane.
(With ECB/PTI Inputs)
