Aussies ready to hit ground running on England tour

Head coach Justin Langer said his Australia squad are super-fit and ready to hit the ground running as they departed on Sunday for their white-ball tour of England, their first cricket activity since March.

The 21-man squad gathered in Perth before taking a direct flight after which they will face several days of isolation in Derby due to novel coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions. Training will be permitted during their lockdown and they will play four inter-squad warm-up games to get match-ready after nearly six months of inaction since the pandemic brought sport to a halt.

They will head to a biosecure hub in Southampton for the first of three Twenty20 Internationals on Sept 4 against an England side who have been back in action since early July. Three

One-day Internationals against the 50-over world champions follow at Old Trafford in Manchester.

Australia are taking a larger-than-normal squad, partly because they will not be able to call up anyone into the touring party under the bio-security protocols, but also to ensure they have enough players to field two teams in warm-up games. "The reason we're taking 21 is so we can play some good practice games over there," said Langer told reporters at Sydney airport en route to Perth from where the squad left for England.

"That's what we've asked the boys to be ready for, that they can start playing games and, hopefully, because we've got 21 very good players coming with us, we can have some really high intensity practice games." Skipper Aaron Finch, who will open alongside David Warner, with Steve Smith batting at three followed by Marnus Labuschagne, said close attention will be paid to mental health inside the biosecure bubble, with a sports psychologist travelling with the team.