England captain Joe Root has reportedly confirmed that he'll lead the team in the upcoming Ashes 2021-22 with a formal confirmation of the Australia tour going ahead will come by the end of this week.
Root’s decision to participate in the five-match Test series reportedly came after a meeting between the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Cricket Australia (CA), and the players settled on the conditions of an easy quarantine for the players and their families.
It is being said that England players’ major concerns over the COVID-19 protocols and quarantine were resolved at a meeting and Root will likely be joined by a full-strength squad for the Ashes series in Australia.
ECB, CA, and Australian authorities have been negotiating for months over the touring conditions for the Ashes series, as the arrivals have to isolate in quarantine hotels for 14 days, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status in Australia.
And it was England players’ major issue that whether family members can join them over the Christmas and New Year period during the Test series.
Well, the issue has been solved as the England players, staff and families have been offered the use of a Gold Coast resort in Queensland State for quarantine before the first Test, starting in Brisbane on December 8, while the families, who arrive for the Christmas and New Year, will stay at a resort in the Yarra Valley on the fringe of Melbourne before the Boxing Day Test from December 26.
However, there is no official statement regarding the same, but UK’s Daily Telegraph newspaper claimed that the “formal go-ahead will be given later this week after an eleventh-hour deal was struck”.
The sen.com.au quoted as saying by Daily Telegraph, “Both CA and ECB have been negotiating strict quarantine requirements for weeks after England players raised concerns that their families wouldn’t be able to travel to Australia for Christmas and New Year’s.”
The report added, “Root’s decision reportedly came after a deal was struck to allow players’ families to quarantine in a resort in Victoria’s Yarra Valley which has been booked for their own personal use, avoiding a harsher hotel quarantine stay.”
Meanwhile, Australia's white-ball captain Aaron Finch told reporters: “They’ve played a lot of Test cricket so I can understand where they’re coming from.”
He signed off by saying, “Guys are on the road for a lot longer than what tours used to go (for) when you’re adding on quarantine at the start and potentially at the end. That is difficult but it’s great to see Joe’s (Root) supported that and they’re going to come down.”
(With Reuters Inputs)
