England will only play Ashes with best players, insists ECB

England will only travel to Australia for the Ashes series across December and January if their leading players are in the squad.

That was the message from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), with the governing body saying it will announce this week if the tour will go ahead amid concerns about restrictions in place in Australia due to the pandemic.

An ECB statement said there has been regular and positive dialogue with Cricket Australia about arrangements for Ashes series, one of the biggest occasions in cricket.

However England's players are concerned about the conditions they will have to live in after arriving in Australia, such as the quarantine arrangements and whether family members can travel. The ECB said the priority was to ensure the tour can take place 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, the ECB said in a statement.

Tellingly, the governing body added that the squad selected needed to be befitting a series of this significance.

With the Twenty20 World Cup taking place in the United Arab Emirates and Oman from Oct 17 to Nov 14 and the five-Test Ashes series beginning on Dec 8 until mid-January, plus quarantine either side and before the Ashes, some players could be away from home for more than three months.

Ben Stokes, England's star all-rounder, is currently missing because he is taking a break from cricket to protect his mental health.

The ECB statement suggests this is not the case and that England will not countenance taking a weakened squad to Australia.