Root ends Ashes fears by vowing to lead full-strength squad to Australia
England captain commits, and rest of team will follow suit Botham tells players ‘I would have my bags packed already’
Joe Root has committed to leading England in the Ashes this winter, with the tour to Australia expected to be given the formal go-ahead by the end of this week.
After weeks of negotiations to stop the trip being postponed or cancelled over Australia’s strict Covid-19 quarantine rules, a deal has been struck that is likely to lead to a full-strength squad travelling.
The only potential exception is wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler.
The 31-year-old is still wavering, having publicly expressed reservations at being apart from his family for so long.
But it is understood he is likely to travel if arrangements can be made for his wife and children to join him this month in the United Arab Emirates, where he is playing at the Twenty20 World
Cup, before flying directly to Australia.
It is also believed some of the fringe players likely to be called up will not turn down the chance to travel, with several concerned about their long-term England futures were they not to commit to the tour. The emergence of a solution came after those wavering over going were denounced by Lord Botham, who cast doubt on their desire to take on what he called “the ultimate test”.
It was Root’s decision to confirm his participation – revealed after a meeting between the England and Wales Cricket Board, Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley and players yesterday to thrash out the final details of the tour – that proved the key development which ensured the series would go ahead.
It has been reported in Australia that England players’ families flying out to spend Christmas with their partners would be offered the use of a resort in the Yarra Valley, near Melbourne, to complete their quarantine.
A two-week “hard” quarantine in a hotel was seen as a red line for many, but the compromise offered has apparently been enough to assuage those concerns.
Botham told The Daily Telegraph yesterday that if he was still playing he would “already have my bags packed” if selected.
Pouring scorn on concerns about the conditions facing Root’s side and their loved ones, the recentlyappointed government trade envoy to Australia said he was sick of talk of the tour being postponed or cancelled.
Botham, arguably England’s greatest Ashes hero, said: “It’s the ultimate test and, I don’t know, I start to wonder maybe if some of these guys don’t fancy the ultimate test. You have to start to worry about it.
“Playing for England is the ultimate. To play Test cricket for England is the ultimate and to play against Australia in Australia – and win – is magnificent.
“I just wish that we could actually put a positive spin on something and my positive spin is: let’s get out there, let’s play what we do best, and let’s see if we can beat the best in their own backyard, because
Australia don’t lose very often in their own backyard. “I suggest it’s a challenge. And, if I was in their boots, I’d already have my bags packed.”
Questioning why there had been complaints about conditions during the Ashes but not the lucrative Indian Premier League, he said: “I believe the tour will go ahead. I believe the tour should go ahead. We need to remember that Australia came over at the height of the pandemic and sat in a bubble to play in a series of one-dayers with us.
“To be frank, I don’t quite understand all this about, ‘Oh, I’ve got to be away for three months.’ Well, you’re a professional sportsman.
You do this for a living. They will do everything to make it as smooth as they can in Australia – apart from when they’re on the pitch.
“I don’t see anyone saying, ‘I don’t want to go and be in a bubble when I go to the IPL’.
“Do you know what, if you don’t want to go, I bet there are hundreds that would love to.”