Members of England’s T20 World Cup 2021 squad were forced to share a flight with their Ashes 2021-22 rivals Australian players, who just won the tournament by defeating New Zealand in the final on November 14.
England's multi-format stars like Jos Buttler were stuck in UAE after losing to New Zealand in the semifinals last Wednesday and had to wait for Australia to play in the World Cup final before flying to Queensland together ahead of the Ashes.
The flight, which landed in Brisbane this morning, was a charter to ensure both squads complied with COVID-19 protocols before entering quarantine on the Gold Coast. England's all-format players Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Chris Woakes, and Mark Wood were among those who landed at Brisbane Airport and quickly moved out of the terminal.
"There is one bunch of cricketers who won't be enjoying this, watching on, and that's England's Ashes players. That could be an interesting plane journey,” former England captain Mike Atherton told Sky Sports after Australia won the final.
England pacer Mark Wood had said before the Australia-New Zealand final that he was nervous about the prospect of flying home with an Australian side still celebrating their historic win.
"I just can't have them (Australia) win that game. It's going to be unbearable. You can look them in the eye and say congratulations to them but when you are about to head off to an Ashes series against them, the last thing you want is them feeling confident and waving a trophy around in your face before you've even got there,” Wood had told BBC.
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Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood downplayed the idea there would be any awkwardness citing that they have played in the IPL and county cricket a lot with one another.
Hazlewood, Steve Smith, David Warner, Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Starc are among the Australians needing to quickly reset for the Ashes. National selectors are close to finalizing the list of players for that intra-squad match in Brisbane.
Ashes 2021-22 schedule:
First Test: December 8-12, The Gabba
Second Test: December 16-20, Adelaide Oval
Third Test: December 26-30, MCG
Fourth Test: January 5-9, SCG
Fifth Test: January 14-18, Perth Stadium
(cricket.com.au inputs)
