Reports: England players contemplating pulling out of Ashes due to COVID restrictions
The Ashes is still five months away, but it has started to grab eyeballs even before a ball is bowled. With the 2021-22 series going to be played Down Under, there are chances that the England players may pull out the high-octane series due to the Australian government’s stringent border restrictions.
Due to the recent surge in cases of COVID-19, the government had to resort to this step. Also, few big cities have failed to even get a successful vaccination drive going and, that has impacted more positive cases in Australia in recent times.
For the past two years or so, the cricket being played has completely changed as bio-bubble restrictions and mental health has become a priority. With the five-match series being played and duration being long too the players might miss their loved ones.
If reports in BCC are to be believed, then few England players are contemplating pulling out of the Ashes series that will start on December 8, if the families are not allowed to travel with them. Apart from the series Down Under, England and Australia will compete in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, which is set to be held in the UAE and Oman in October-November.
With few England players being part of both the squads, the players might be away from their families for close to four months. What makes things difficult is that certain parts of Australia are under strict lockdown with no respite whatsoever of easing the rules in the coming months.
Cricket Australia working on a solution
With a considerable amount of time still left for the Ashes series, Cricket Australia (CA) is hoping to find a solution that will be beneficial for both teams. There is not an official confirmation as of yet, as the CA and England Cricket Board (ECB) and the Australian government are working on a solution and the call will be taken in August.
It’s only June and, England are not due to arrive until November,” a CA spokeswoman told the Sydney Morning Herald. “We’ll be going through the same process we did with India last summer.”
Former England players Kevin Pietersen and Michael Vaughan have already stated that many first-choice players may pull out of the Ashes series Down Under if the families are not allowed.
