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Ashes 2021… at risk?

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8,480
Listened to the ashes podcast “road to the ashes” with Brendan Julian… pretty good and highly recommend it …

Had Michael Vaughan on and he suggested there’s a real risk of England pulling the pin this year…

Combo of playing for last 18 months in bubbles abroad and at home, with quarantine in Australia and without families able to join… for the 2-odd months they are here…

That’s the basics of it but in listening it was very reasonable to me.

The other thing I thought of… unsure if it will have a bearing, but j wouldn’t rule it out…

Does/Will Peter Vlandys leading the exodus from the league World Cup give further credence to a potential withdrawal by England… different sports and levels of Covid issues but all the same… we couldn’t seriously publically complain if England pulled the pin when we’ve done the same to them..
 
Messages
14,480
Families will join them, concession was already made.

And if they send a weak squad, I hope we ream them in every test.
 
Messages
8,480
Families will join them, concession was already made.

And if they send a weak squad, I hope we ream them in every test.
Ah right I didn’t know the concession, prob misheard in the cast.

If they come out, depending on our COVID problems at the time…. Closed Borders etc…. I wonder if all grounds will get a run , especially if Sydney / others are in lockdown n no crowds allowed..

5 test series in Adelaide?

I wouldn’t mind…
 

TheParraboy

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
66,142
Listened to the ashes podcast “road to the ashes” with Brendan Julian… pretty good and highly recommend it …

Had Michael Vaughan on and he suggested there’s a real risk of England pulling the pin this year…

Combo of playing for last 18 months in bubbles abroad and at home, with quarantine in Australia and without families able to join… for the 2-odd months they are here…

That’s the basics of it but in listening it was very reasonable to me.

The other thing I thought of… unsure if it will have a bearing, but j wouldn’t rule it out…

Does/Will Peter Vlandys leading the exodus from the league World Cup give further credence to a potential withdrawal by England… different sports and levels of Covid issues but all the same… we couldn’t seriously publically complain if England pulled the pin when we’ve done the same to them..




It will be postponed for next summer 2022/23 if it is pulled id say. (then cancel or move the 2022/23 3 tests v SA and 2 test v WI ) Problem there also is, we are scheduled to tour India for 4 test and 3 T20s in Oct 2022. Then right into the ashes.

How about this - The prestigious BBL gets front center and back stage with all our test players available, what a treat. Im salivating...

May be an opportunity for a minnow Ireland or ,Afghanistan to play a 2 test series if poms pull out ?? Unlikely but I think it would be great if these nations got this sort of exposure and experience
 
Messages
8,480
It will be postponed for next summer 2022/23 if it is pulled id say. (then cancel or move the 2022/23 3 tests v SA and 2 test v WI ) Problem there also is, we are scheduled to tour India for 4 test and 3 T20s in Oct 2022. Then right into the ashes.

How about this - The prestigious BBL gets front center and back stage with all our test players available, what a treat. Im salivating...

May be an opportunity for a minnow Ireland or ,Afghanistan to play a 2 test series if poms pull out ?? Unlikely but I think it would be great if these nations got this sort of exposure and experience
It would bring some spark back to a tiring cricket format… but vice versa we’d miss many overseas players too I’d think… like Rashid Khan etc etc…

I’d have thought we’d get NZ here for tests if the poms don’t show. They are the world test champions now…… maybe a test series across both countries…
 

TheParraboy

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
66,142
It would bring some spark back to a tiring cricket format… but vice versa we’d miss many overseas players too I’d think… like Rashid Khan etc etc…

I’d have thought we’d get NZ here for tests if the poms don’t show. They are the world test champions now…… maybe a test series across both countries…


Probably makes a mockery of the test championship, if we belt the kiwis 3-0 again so soon after the final 😉

Looks like Kiwis from late Dec 2021 have got 2 test v Bangers (plus 3 T20) and two tests v SA (plus 3 T20) plus 3 ODI v Netherlands and India x 3 ODIs
 

TheParraboy

Moderator
Staff member
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66,142
Bumble said in an interview during the Poms v Indian test series that he thinks 1 or 2 players only wont tour town under for the ashes. I reckon it will be a lot more

Talk they want to postpone the ashes cause of too much bubble life (some in the IPL and T20 WC bubble)

Even a suggestion play 2 or 3 ashes tests this summer, and then 2-3 ashes test the following summer LOL

Anyhow looks like if the tour does go ahead Poms will be pretty under strength

We lost to an under strength India last summer, de ja vu about to repeat ?




England could field under-strength Ashes squad as ECB resist postponement​

Prospect of boycott still on the cards as players await clarity on quarantine and bubble life

The prospect of England fielding a significantly under-strength squad in the Ashes would appear to have grown following talks between the team and officials at the ECB.

ESPNcricinfo understands that some members of the playing squad and some members of the team management were underwhelmed by the ECB's refusal to even countenance a partial or even complete postponement of the tour. As a result, they are considering their options. One of those options is understood to be the entire team - including coaching and support staff - taking a collective decision to boycott the tour.

While the players appear, in general, fairly sanguine about the prospect of a two-week quarantine for themselves, they are reluctant to put their families through it. And with some players away for the best part of four months (the IPL being followed by the T20 World Cup and the Ashes), they are understandably reluctant not to see their families for the entire period.

The nature of the quarantine is also understood to have disappointed the players. Although there has been talk of allowing them the use of a resort hotel on the Gold Coast, it is now understood they are likely to be permitted only two or three hours out of their hotel rooms each day for training. There is also a possibility the squad will be obliged to remain in some sort of 'bubble' throughout the tour to avoid difficulties in moving between states. Families, meanwhile, could still be required to undergo a 'hard' quarantine involving 14 days in a hotel room.

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Given the current quarantine requirements in Australia, the team had - in a Q and A with Tom Harrison in recent days - asked the ECB to raise the possibility of a postponement in the series with their counterparts at CA. One proposed option is believed to have been a suggestion that the tour was split into two, with two or three Tests played across the Christmas period in 2021-22, and two or three more played in a similar period next year. Another proposed option was to move the whole series back 12 months in the hope that families and supporters from the UK would be able to attend.

It is understood, however, that the ECB were reluctant to consider such options. While they did reiterate the offer that players - and support staff - could opt out without consequences, they do appear insistent that the tour should proceed this year. This reaction is understood to have disappointed some players who feel their concerns are not being appreciated by the authorities.

Official negotiations between the ECB and the players are conducted by TEPP (The Team England Player Partnership; a division of the PCA; the players' union) but, in recent days, Harrison has spoken to the players in the hope of answering their questions directly. That meeting would appear not to have alleviated many concerns.

As a result, it remains possible that the entire team - including management, coaches and support staff - could make a collective decision not to tour in order to highlight their discomfort with the situation. It remains more likely, however, that several players - especially those who are not all-format players - will ultimately choose to go. Either way, it appears inevitable that England will be forced to field a substantially under-strength squad. That could even include them naming a new captain for the series, with a senior player such as Stuart Broad a possible option.

Both eventualities are likely to have consequences. As things stand, no broadcast partner has been announced to show the Ashes in the UK, though BT Sport are understood to be the likely home of the series. The prospect of a one-sided contest is unlikely to have enticed especially attractive bids.

The ECB have asked for confirmation of the players' decision whether to tour by the end of September. The players, meanwhile, are still awaiting details of what the tour - including quarantine - will look like for them and their families. Until those questions are answered, they are struggling to provide informed decisions. CA is understood to have undertaken to provide more details by September 26. All involved want some clarify soon after that. While the ECB are clearly keen to fulfil the touring agreement, it remains possible they will make demands about quarantine that CA are simply unable to meet. Such a scenario would pose another threat to the tour.

The prospect of any of the Tests taking place in Perth seems to be diminishing by the moment, however. West Australia is, at present, taking an especially cautious approach to the virus and is currently requiring another 14-day quarantine when entering the state. As a result, there seems a strong possibility that both the fourth and fifth Tests could be played in Sydney. England's original plans involved sending an enlarged tour party to Perth to warm up for the series. They were hoping the England side could prepare with matches against England Lions.

ESPNcricinfo understands there has been no discussion about asking West Indies and Pakistan to alter their dates of their Test series against England, currently scheduled for March 2022 and November 2022 respectively.
 

TheParraboy

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Staff member
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66,142
Well it comes down to this by the looks

A weaker poms squad, or ashes canned

Should know by the end of the week


https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/...prepare-to-make-final-tour-assessment-1281453

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The ECB board is set to meet later this week to determine whether this winter's Ashes can take place, after appearing to concede that several of the team's leading players remain unwilling to submit to Australia's stringent Covid-19 protocols.

In a statement issued on Monday morning, the ECB said that it had been in discussions with England men's players and management - some of whom will be departing for the UAE later the same day ahead of this month's T20 World Cup.

And while the statement insisted that the board's dialogue with Cricket Australia remained "regular and positive", it also appeared to express public doubt about whether the conditions that have been put in place will "enable the selection of a squad befitting a series of this significance".

"Over the weekend we have been talking to England men's players and management to provide them with the latest information about the proposed arrangements for this winter's scheduled Ashes tour," the statement read.

"We remain in regular and positive dialogue with Cricket Australia over these arrangements as the picture is constantly evolving. With health and wellbeing at the forefront, our focus is to ensure the tour can go ahead with conditions for players and management to perform at their best.

"We will continue talking to our players this week to share the latest information and seek feedback.

"Later this week the ECB board will meet to decide whether the conditions in place are sufficient for the tour to go ahead and enable the selection of a squad befitting a series of this significance."

Australia's government has outlined plans to ease entry and quarantine restrictions to fully-vaccinated citizens in November, but this provision isn't expected to be extended to overseas travellers until a later date.

Last week, England's captain Joe Root expressed his own doubts about the series, stating that he was "desperate" for the tour to go ahead, but that he could not yet commit to leading the team.

Writing on Instagram prior to the white-ball squad's departure for the UAE, Paul Collingwood, the team's assistant coach, summed up the dilemma being faced by many of the players, particularly those with young families.

"I love my job and I'm so excited for the winter of cricket ahead but saying goodbye to your daughters for potentially 3 months is not easy, no matter how tough you feel you are," he wrote. "We all make sacrifices in life. Looking forward to meeting up with the team tomorrow because I know we will try to help each other like a family."

In response, Cricket Australia issued a statement of its own, reiterating the "regular and positive" discussions of the past six months, and stressing that the "health and wellbeing of both squads ... is a priority."

"We especially thank our government partners for all their support in this regard," the statement continued. "We are also buoyed by rising vaccination rates and an evolving approach to the pandemic in Australia.

"The anticipated conditions for the tour, including quarantine arrangements have now been communicated to the ECB and directly to the England players and staff."
 

Eelectrica

Referee
Messages
20,976
Too much money for it not to go ahead in some form. Who knows what it will look like though.
Wouldn't be a surprise if all the tests were played on one or two grounds to make it easier.

By December we really should be looking to open up. We're picking up the pace with getting people vaxxed. I know the article said the rules for international travel are going to take a bit longer to catch up though.
 
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