Cricket Australia (CA) has given a blueprint to England Test skipper Joe Root along with his teammates about the Australian quarantine protocols to be followed before Ashes tour, which will begin in December.
The move has been done to help the English cricket team to make up their mind whether to tour the country or not.
In a long video conference, the CA briefed the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) officials about what to be expected during the 11-week-long tour.
A report in the Daily Mail on Monday said that, “England’s Test players could make their decisions on whether to embark on this winter’s Ashes tour” soon “after being informed of the quarantine and living conditions they can expect in Australia.”
“They were the first details of the Covid-related restrictions the players had seen, despite CA sending a first draft to the ECB on September 24. The governing body opted to keep that to themselves for 10 days to provide time to push back on certain aspects of the tourists’ proposed environment.”
“Joe Root’s squad discovered some of the finer details in the proposals for the 11-week tour. Now the individuals concerned will be asked to decide whether they find the guidance acceptable – and to report back on their availability as soon as possible. A squad will then be selected later this week alongside an England Lions party. In all, around 30 players will be heading to Australia. The Test specialists fly out early next month,” the report added.
Earlier, several England cricketers had expressed their displeasure over the tough quarantine rules in Australia.
Along with Root some of the other England members had earlier cited Australia’s strict quarantine and travel protocols as the major reasons for their reluctance to tour Australia following which the respective boards of the two teams have induldged in dialogue.
Due to Covid-19 pandemic, Australia have put some strict rules under place for people arriving from abroad and there is a mandatory 14-day quarantine even if the person is fully vaccinated which means England team’s family members may not be allowed to travel with them.
Notably, not being with their families during the long tour has been a major deterrent for many England’s players.
Recently, former England batsman Kevin Pietersen had said that the players are now done with the bubble life and he wouldn’t travel unless the ridiculous quarantine rules are crushed so that his family can travel without any restrictions.
England vice-captain Jos Buttler has said that he will not travel to Australia for the Ashes if families are not allowed and sought clarity about the Covid-19 protocols for the tour.
“Yes, definitely for myself. If I had to do a World Cup and an Ashes – four, five months without seeing my family – I wouldn’t be comfortable doing that,” Buttler was quoted as saying by Skysport.
“We’re still waiting for more information, as soon as possible. Hopefully, in the next few days there’ll be more information. As soon as you get that it makes it easier to know what decision you’re making,” he added.
Buttler, however, felt the two boards will find a solution to the issue.
“The ECB and Cricket Australia will be working very hard together to make it as good as possible. It’s tough to make a decision when you don’t have all the answers. In Covid times, there is always going to be some sort of question that is difficult to answer. It could be changeable, it would be naive not to say so in the times we’re living in, but you want to go there with as many assurances as possible,” he opined.