Cricket Australia meet with England stars AGAIN over quarantine plans
Cricket Australia forced to meet with England stars AGAIN over Ashes series after Joe Root and Co were left furious by quarantine plans for wives and children… with ECB to make final decision over tour this week
- Cricket Australia held a second meeting with England’s players on Tuesday
- England players were briefed on conditions for 11-week Ashes tour on Sunday
- Sportsmail understands England’s senior stars were furious after initial meeting
- CA failed to address concerns over quarantine plans for their wives and children
Cricket Australia were forced into a second meeting with England’s players on Tuesday morning – only 36 hours after the initial conference call left Joe Root’s squad underwhelmed by the lack of detail about quarantine arrangements for families.
As doubts continue to surround the status of the Ashes, scheduled to start at Brisbane on December 8, it emerged that the ECB Board would meet on Friday evening to make a final decision on whether to proceed with the tour.
One report in Australia suggested a cancelled series would cost the Australian game over £100m.
Cricket Australia held a second meeting with England’s players on Tuesday morning to address concerns over quarantine plans for their wives and children
Sportsmail understands England’s senior stars were furious after initial meeting on Sunday
Sportsmail understands some of England’s senior players were furious that CA’s Sunday-night video presentation paid little more than lip service to their concerns over quarantine plans for their wives and children, prompting CA chief executive Nick Hockley to go into more detail in a follow-up call.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, the England players (and their families) who are not involved at the T20 World Cup will be spared a hard quarantine in Queensland on arrival in November, and instead spend only a few days in their hotels before heading for the more relaxed environment of the Gold Coast.
Meanwhile, later arrivals will be able to bypass Queensland altogether, and fly straight into Melbourne, before quarantining in the picturesque Yarra Valley wine region.
The England squad were given a presenation on what to expect in Australia for the Ashes
The complications of interstate travel have been highlighted by worries over when to move Australian Test players from New South Wales and Victoria, where Covid restrictions have been less draconian, into Queensland in time for the Gabba Test.
Queensland’s border is currently closed to NSW, whose cricketers include Test off-spinner Nathan Lyon, and Victoria, raising concerns about a potential 14-day quarantine for the players that also allows them enough time to prepare for the Ashes opener.
But CA are confident that growing vaccination numbers in Australia will mean restrictions are relaxed well in advance of the first Test.
The ECB will meet on Friday to make a final decision on whether to proceed with the tour
Meanwhile, all-rounder Sam Curran has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup after suffering a back injury during his IPL stint with Chennai Super Kings.
He has been replaced by his brother Tom in England’s 15-man squad, while Surrey left-armer Reece Topley has been added as a travelling reserve. England’s first game is against West Indies in Dubai on October 23.
Curran faces further scans once he returns to the UK, but it is believed the injury could be a stress fracture, which would rule him out of contention for the Ashes.
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