The Ashes is set to go ahead this summer with England’s players reportedly agreeing to tour in a move that will green-light the $200 million series.
England’s cricketers spoke with Cricket Australia (CA) bosses again on Tuesday evening, to thrash out their concerns over strict COVID-19 protocols.
Players have been given until the end of this week to make a decision by England authorities, with the team only set to tour if an adequate number of front-liner players agree to travel.
However, those fears have now seemingly been allayed with UK newspaper The Telegraph reporting that captain Joe Root has led a group of players committing to the series.
According to the report, wicketkeeper Jos Buttler could be the only England player not to agree to tour.
The star wicketkeeper-batsman had previously indicated his concerns over the tour and potential time away from family.
Allrounder Moeen Ali will be unavailable after he recently retired, while Ben Stokes is taking a break from the game and Jofra Archer is out injured.
CA are yet to officially be informed but will no doubt be breathing a massive sigh of relief given the magnitude of the decision.
In a series of two separate meetings with England players in recent days, it’s understood fears over snap lockdowns and quarantine conditions for families were the chief concerns.
But CEO Nick Hockley stressed to England players that conditions in Australia were improving, with the country’s vaccination rate on the rise.
Likewise, it’s believed a move to have a second group England’s players’ families arrive before Christmas to quarantine in Melbourne has also been crucial.
Players had feared that families would only be able to arrive with them in November, meaning a hard quarantine before a long tour.
But the move to let a second group into Victoria would be welcome news, given they do not need to spend as much time away from home.
There could be some freedoms for families in regional Victoria.
That deal is not officially over the line with the state government, but would be in line with the road map out of COVID-19 as Victoria edges closer to 70 and 80 per cent double dosage rates.
The last concern for CA will now be the Perth Test, with officials adamant they will be granted clearance to play in Western Australia just days after being in Sydney.
If that does fall through, Canberra or Hobart could seize their first Ashes Test.
Alternatively, the match could be held as a second fixture at the SCG or MCG.
Meanwhile, England’s decision comes after legend Ian Botham questioned whether the team really wanted to take on Australia in “the ultimate test”.
Botham, the most celebrated English scourge of the Aussies, has questioned the desire of some of his 2021 successors to play in the upcoming Ashes, suggesting that they “don’t fancy the ultimate test”.
“It’s the ultimate test and – I don’t know – I start to wonder maybe if some of these guys don’t fancy the ultimate test,” Botham, 65, told the Telegraph.
“You have to start to worry about it. Playing for England is the ultimate. To play Test cricket for England is the ultimate and to play against Australia in Australia, and win, is magnificent.
“I just wish that we could actually put a positive spin on something and my positive spin is: ‘Let’s get out there, let’s see if we can beat the best in their own backyard.’ Because Australia don’t lose very often in their own backyard.
“I suggest it’s a challenge and if I was in their boots, I’d already have my bags packed.”
Australia currently hold the urn after a 2-2 draw in England in 2019, with the first Test due to start in Brisbane on December 8.
matth
Roar Guru
I’d imagine if we get severe travel restrictions midway they will simply okay the remainder of the series in the state they are already in at the time
matth
Roar Guru
That perception is true. Australia is a Federation of states and I think people had forgotten that the Federal Government’s powers are limited to just over 50 specific items in our constitution. Our states have a lot of powers especially in health and education.
Ian
Roar Rookie
It's very easily sorted. The next time the mention of Central Contracts comes up, put a clause in that says if you don't want to play or tour you won't get paid. I think you'll find that most of the players will make themselves available to tour just about anywhere then.
Ian
Roar Rookie
You make your points well Matth. My comment was badly written. The final sentence was referring to the way the ECB and CA have handled the whole affair. It should have been handled quietly, behind closed doors not dragged out for the past couple of months in the public arena. Having said that, I think Australia's handling of the vaccine roll out has been diabolical. It has given power mad, ego driven State Premiers far too many opportunities to have their collective moments in the sun. The UK's covid performance has been beyond pathetic from the start. We've only been saved from 300,000+ deaths by the success of our vaccine roll out, which has been the only thing the government here has done well. Perception in Politics is everything, and the perception here is that your Federal Government is a lame duck and the States are running the show. That's why there's been so much diffidence about the tour going ahead.
Peter
Roar Rookie
I'm not putting too much store in Karen Rolton Oval stats.
Paul
Roar Guru
as long as there are no restrictive demands mid-series, ie some sort of lockdown/quarantine, that suggestion makes sense
Paul
Roar Guru
That's exactly right, but I wonder if that will happen? The WHO still seems stuck on total infections, new infections and deaths, with only the last measure being a relevant number to Australia, now that the bulk of the population is being vaccinated.
Pom in exile
Roar Rookie
I’m glad you didn’t mention Richardson, reckon he could end up the best of the lot. Hazlewood and Cummins are top draw too of course. I wonder if Lyon and Starc are coming towards the end, neither looked great last summer.
Pom in exile
Roar Rookie
Ok champ, thanks for the update.
jameswm
Roar Guru
You want recent form? 2021-2022 Sheffield Shield - once at bat, scored 163.
Peter
Roar Rookie
Also he played for Sussex over the winter, 11 innings, 183 at 18.30.
matth
Roar Guru
That's been Australia's mantra for the past 30 years whenever a tour to, say Bangladesh is coming up.
matth
Roar Guru
"The whole thing has been a shambles, badly handled by all parties from start to finish." I really struggle with this narrative. We have handled the back end in a less than stellar way, due to complacency in sourcing and distributing vaccines. Prior to that our record of low cases and fatalities was the envy of the world. We will still finish this year pretty much fully vaccinated around the country, not in recession and with under 2000 fatalities all up vs over 130,000 in the UK. Measuring deaths as a percentage of the population, the UL has had it just over 37 times worse. Let's not believe all the doom and gloom that we have had a disaster.
matth
Roar Guru
I'd imagine they would pivot to Manuka Oval or back to the SCG to keep the five test series.
matth
Roar Guru
Except of course for the 140 or so people that are still dying every day. They aren't really getting on with it. This probably seems okay in the UK, because it's much lower than the peak, but there are states in Australia who have had less than 10 fatalities across the entire pandemic. To them, jumping to even half of that level will be very difficult politically. Apart from the two lockdown states, the rest are "getting on with it". Hardly any restrictions, other than masks and interstate/overseas travel. I was up the Sunshine Coast last week and there were no vacancies at the resorts.
matth
Roar Guru
What they will need to pivot to is reporting hospitalizations and fatalities as the key metrics, not cases. With the population highly vaccinated, the majority of cases should be mild and less relevant compared to whether the hospital system is coping and how many breakthrough cases are killing people.
matth
Roar Guru
I have no doubt that England will run through the Australian batting line up once or twice. We are weak. The problem is whether England's techniques can stand up to Starc, Pattinson, Hazlewood, Lyon and especially, Cummins.
matth
Roar Guru
I was looking forward to seeing Archer on the bouncing pitches in Brisbane and Perth. Oh well.
matth
Roar Guru
That's okay, most of them can't play the swinging ball anyway. How on earth was rugby league even slightly relevant?
matth
Roar Guru
Yes but England were happy to have their full home summer, in bubbles, forcing West Indies and others to endure those bubbles, so that England's finances stayed up and running. Add to that Australia came in September 2020 to help out. It would be a tad churlish of England to not tour now.