Former England Test skipper Sir Andrew Strauss has urged any England players contemplating pulling out of the Ashes tour to Australia later this year because of ‘bubble fatigue’ and increased Covid restrictions to think again and get on the plane.
Some England players, like Stuart Broad , have already stated categorically that they will travel to Australia if they are selected for the five-Test series despite worries that the touring party will be forced to spend months apart from their families because of the country’s draconian quarantine rules.
Other players, including some with young children, have been reluctant to commit to the tour without first receiving assurances that their families will be able to travel with them, or at least see them over the Christmas and New Year period.
The England players are due to be informed on Sunday of the quarantine and living conditions they will need to abide by for the 11-week tour.
They will be asked to report back as to their availability within 48 hours, a timeframe which will allow the selectors to pick a squad and it will be announced within seven to 10 days. In addition to an expected 16-strong Test group, an England Lions party of up to 15 players are also heading to Australia.
Strauss, also a former director of cricket for the ECB and the last man to lead England to victory in Australia, in 2010-11, said he had sympathy with players who had already spent the last 18 months playing in ‘extraordinarily tough environments’ but he felt the Ashes was too important to miss.
