“The ECB Council met today and gave its approval for the tour to take place. This decision is subject to several critical conditions being met prior to travel”; The decision follows positive talks between the England players and Cricket Australia (CA) earlier this week.
Australia held back the ashes when the teams last met in 2019
The Ashes tour of England in Australia will continue this winter subject to “several critical conditions being met”, the Cricket Board of England and Wales (ECB) has confirmed.
The decision, made at an ECB meeting on Friday, follows positive talks between England players and Cricket Australia (CA) earlier this week.
England cricketers raised concerns about conditions for the five-game series, which will begin in Brisbane on December 8, including quarantine arrangements for themselves and their families along with off-field restrictions.
The ECB said in a statement on Friday: “In recent weeks we have made excellent progress in advancing the Men’s Tour of Ashes of England.
“To facilitate further progress and allow a team to be selected, the ECB Council met today and gave its approval for the tour to take place. This decision is subject to several critical conditions being met prior to travel. “.
“We look forward to Cricket Australia’s continued assistance to resolve these issues in the coming days.”
After a meeting on Sunday, the ECB had suggested that the tour would not continue unless conditions “allowed the selection of a suitable team for a series of this importance.”
Reports suggest that the ECB will announce the touring players this weekend.
The five tests will be played in five states, each of which has its own Covid-19 regulations.
The second test will be one night in Adelaide (December 16-20) before the traditional Melbourne Boxing Day Test (December 26-30).
Sydney will host the fourth round (January 5-9), before a possible decider at Optus Stadium in Perth (January 14-18).
Australia retained the ashes when the teams last met in 2019 after a 2-2 draw in the series.
Former England Test captain Nasser Hussain said the announcement suggests that the players are convinced that the conditions they wanted for themselves and their families will be possible.
Talking to Sky Sports NewsHussain said: “I heard that as long as those conditions are met, most of the players are very happy.
“They still have injuries with players like Jofra Archer and Olly Stone in the fast bowling department.
“Obviously the biggest one is Ben Stokes and Ben just had a finger operation. He’s been out of the game for a while because of his sanity and we’ll have to wait and see what happens to Ben Stokes later on the tour.
“I think Ben Stokes’ situation is the gray zone and [the ECB] It will give Ben Stokes all the time he needs to get back to playing cricket, either this winter or sometime after. “
