LONDON, Aug 13: Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, says that England and Australia will use every diplomatic channel available to ensure that this winter’s Ashes can go ahead as planned, in spite of the players’ fears that their families may not be permitted to travel due to Australia’s stringent Covid-19 restrictions.
The prospect of a postponed Ashes tour has become increasingly realistic in recent weeks, amid concerns that a number of England’s senior players – in particular multi-format players such as Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Mark Wood – would be reluctant to head straight from the T20 World Cup in the UAE to Australia, and spend up to four months away from their young families.
Several former England captains have expressed their reservations about the tour taking place in such circumstances, most recently Andrew Strauss, who captained England’s last victorious Ashes tour in 2010-11, and said this week it would be “unrealistic” to expect the players to tolerate such lengthy enforced absences.
Harrison, however, insisted that the ECB’s “people first” policy would remain intact in spite of the “critical” importance of an Ashes tour to the finances of international cricket.
The financial implications of an Ashes postponement would be devastating for Cricket Australia, and by extension the global game, as the ECB recognise all too well given the efforts they made to fulfil their home summer fixtures in 2020 – including three-Test series against West Indies and Pakistan, and white-ball visits from Ireland and Australia themselves. (Agencies)
