PM sought Paine’s input on Ashes saga
TEST captain Tim Paine has revealed Prime Minister Scott Morrison reached out to him for a player’s perspective as the federal government worked with Cricket Australia to ensure the Ashes went ahead.
Confirmation that England will send a close to fullstrength squad for the fiveTest series is imminent after captain Joe Root agreed to quarantine conditions laid out to him by CA boss Nick Hockley earlier this week.
Those conditions had been thrashed out in a series of talks between CA and government officials with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also raising the issue of the tour with Mr Morrison last month.
Paine revealed he shared “a few messages” with the Prime Minister as those talks went on to give a “player’s perspective” on the issues at play.
“I’ve had a little bit of contact with him, but I have over my period. He always touches base,” Paine told his SEN program on Friday morning.
“He was keen to find out what the sticking points might be from a player’s perspective. I shared a few text messages with, I suppose, the boss. He loves his cricket.”
Paine said everything he was hearing out of England was “really positive” about the calibre of players who would come for the Ashes amid talk some, like keeper Jos Buttler, were still wavering about making the trip without their families.
“Most, if not all, things that were asked for have been delivered,” Paine said of the quarantine and biosecurity measures set to be used for both England and Australian players. “I’m hearing a lot of their players will commit.
“We will see a really strong England side.”