Broad hopes Ashes tour goes ahead amid travel curbs

Published September 20, 2021
Stuart Broad engaged in a stretching exercise during an indoor training session. — Reuters/File
Stuart Broad engaged in a stretching exercise during an indoor training session. — Reuters/File

LONDON: England sea­mer Stuart Broad doubted whether Australia’s travel and quarantine restrictions would lead to a postponement of the end-of-year Ashes series but he said players would want to be promised the best possible environment for the tour.

England players are seeking assurances their family members would be allowed to join them in Australia, which has closed its borders in an effort to control Covid-19, with limited flights and 14-day mandatory managed isolation for returning citizens.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said last month that it is ‘very confident’ the Ashes, starting in Brisbane on Dec 8, will go ahead as planned.

Broad, 35, who is working on his fitness after he was ruled out of the recent India series following the first Test due to a calf injury, said he would be happy to travel to Australia.

“I don’t feel there will be a postponement. In my mind, it is 100 percent clear that an England team of some description will embark on the tour,” Broad wrote in his Mail on Sunday column. “My message to our bosses at the ECB is simple: Give us the best possible chance to be mentally strong come January with the environment that is created.

“Let’s try to make it as comfortable as possible for us because if you go somewhere like Australia and have to bunker down, you won’t enjoy being in one of the greatest places on earth and aren’t going to win at cricket either.

“It is now just a couple of weeks away from a squad being selected but players can’t sign up to something unless they know what they are signing up for.”

England will play the Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in Oct­ober and November bef­o­re heading to Australia, lik­ely keeping players who feature in both away from home for four months.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

Kurram ceasefire
Updated 26 Nov, 2024

Kurram ceasefire

DESPITE efforts by the KP government to bring about a ceasefire in Kurram tribal district, the bloodletting has...
Hollow victory
26 Nov, 2024

Hollow victory

THE conclusion of COP29 in Baku has left developing nations — struggling with the mounting costs of climate...
Infrastructure schemes
26 Nov, 2024

Infrastructure schemes

THE government’s decision to finance priority PSDP schemes on a three-year rolling basis is a significant step...
Anti-women state
Updated 25 Nov, 2024

Anti-women state

GLOBALLY, women are tormented by the worst tools of exploitation: rape, sexual abuse, GBV, IPV, and more are among...
IT sector concerns
25 Nov, 2024

IT sector concerns

PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ambitious plan to increase Pakistan’s IT exports from $3.2bn to $25bn in the ...
Israel’s war crimes
25 Nov, 2024

Israel’s war crimes

WHILE some powerful states are shielding Israel from censure, the court of global opinion is quite clear: there is...