Andrew Strauss wants England players’ families to accompany them for The Ashes
The issue of the England players’ families traveling with them has become a major talking point ahead of the 2021 Ashes Test series between England and Australia. Former England cricketing legend Andrew Strauss has opined that he does not want The Ashes to be postponed because of this reason.
Strauss also added that the last thing that he would want is for a player to make a choice between his country and his family while he is representing England. He also opined that the best solution to this problem is to find a middle path.
The 44-year-old Strauss also opined that Cricket Australia (CA), as well as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) should find a solution and allow families to accompany players and should also have fewer restrictions in place as well.
“No, I wouldn’t want a postponement, I would want to make sure that the players’ families can get there. The last thing anyone wants is players having to make that choice between ‘my family can’t come and therefore I’m not going to go’ or ‘I’m going to go’. The solution to this is to find some sort of middle ground between the Australian Government, Cricket Australia, and the ECB, to make it as easy as possible for families to get out there and to have as few restrictions as possible when they are over there,” said Strauss as quoted by Cricinfo.
It is unrealistic for England players to be away from their family for months: Andrew Strauss
Andrew Strauss further added that it is unrealistic to expect the England players to play for months together without seeing their family. The batting legend opined that a compromise should be reached, and people should work towards a solution for this matter.
“Of course we all understand, having been through the pandemic here for the last 18 months, that this stuff isn’t easy. [It requires] setting precedent and all that sort of stuff, but I do think it is unrealistic to expect players to go over there for months on end without their family seeing them, especially with what’s gone on over the last 18 months and all the time they had to spend away from their families in bubbles. I think that’s going to be asking them to go one step too far, and some sort of compromise needs to be reached. That’s what everyone should be working towards at the moment, rather than worrying about something that may or may not happen,” concluded Strauss.