TOUGH COVID QUARANTINE TO AFFECT POMS FOR ASHES

UP to 10 players could pull out of the Ashes tour if the England cricketers and their families are subjected to hard quarantine conditions in Australia later this year, or if a clear picture of how the tour will look is not presented to them in good time.

Australia has some of the strictest Covid quarantine regulations in the world and its own cricketers are currently serving two weeks in an Adelaide hotel after returning from a white-ball tour of the West Indies and Bangladesh. They have so far been denied training privileges after a late change of heart by South Australia’s chief health officer.

The England players are expected to be given the freedom to train outdoors in the early days of their tour, which they would probably spend at a resort hotel on the Gold Coast, in the vicinity of the proposed venue for the first Test in Brisbane starting on December 8.

But state governments are routinely changing policy and introducing snap lockdowns.

The Queensland premier recently said rolling lockdowns would last for months. Sudden state-border closures could make the smooth running of a lengthy tour near-impossible.