Ashes will only go ahead if enough leading England players tour
- Decision on Ashes to be made by ECB board later this week
- ECB says squad must befit ‘series of this significance’ to tour
The future of this winter’s Ashes remains in the balance after the England and Wales Cricket Board insisted it will only proceed with the tour if head coach Chris Silverwood can select a squad “befitting a series of this significance”.
In a statement issued on Monday, the ECB said a decision on the tour will be made by the board later this week after further talks with Cricket Australia over the Covid-related living conditions and quarantine provisions being put in place.
It follows a meeting involving players, support staff, the ECB and Cricket Australia on Sunday evening in which details of how the tour will look were finally shared. While some progress is said to have been made during what one source called “sensitive” discussions, significant questions clearly remain.
The upshot is that a number of multi-format players – including Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes – fly to Oman on Monday evening to start preparing for the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates still uncertain as to how long their time away from home will be.
Over the coming days, as further information goes back and forth between the two boards, England’s players will have to decide whether to make themselves available for the five-match series that starts at the Gabba on 8 December. Silverwood, head coach and selector, is set to name a squad this week.
from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3uEToel
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