VAN MAN SAM HITS THE ROAD

SAM BILLINGS was 90 minutes away from taking a flight to join England’s white-ball touring party for their trip to the West Indies when he got the Ashes SOS summoning him to Sydney.

Covid restrictions meant the 30-year-old, who was on the Gold Coast after a Big Bash stint with Sydney Thunder, was unable to fly the 520 miles south.

Instead, he packed his gear into a rented van and drove instead, stopping only in Newcastle (New South Wales) for a refreshing dip in the Pacific to break his epic, nine-hour journey.

AS IF going 12,000 miles to cover England’s Ashes mauling was not bad enough, two of the travelling press pack were left contemplating a couple of nights on the street when their hotel attempted to evict them after they tested positive for Covid. PA’s Rory Dollard and The Cricketer’s George Dobell were isolating halfway into their stay at Sydney’s Rydges when they were called and told it was against hotel policy to allow positive cases to remain on the premises. The pair challenged the ruling and, after local media threatened to highlight it, there was a change of heart. Embarrassed hotel staff subsequently sent a bottle of wine by way of an apology.

BLACKPOOL were shown little mercy when they requested their Championship fixture with Middlesbrough be postponed because of Covid and injuries. Unimpressed EFL officials, who are dealing with requests on a case-by-case basis, pointed out that the Seasiders had a player out on loan with a recall clause and he could have been brought back. As things transpired, the player stayed where he was, Blackpool used a full complement of substitutes and lost the match 2-1.

COVID has substantially dampened January transfer window activity so far — especially when it comes to loan deals for younger players. Premier League sides are aware that they will need large squads to see them through the Omicron surge and are reluctant to allow academy products to leave, given they could be required at short notice to take a place on the bench.