Veteran England speedster Stuart Broad is ready to board the flight for Australia for the slated Ashes tour later this year but would totally accept if any other player pulls out of the tour due to the stringent bio-bubble measures at place for the tour of Australia.
Several English players have raised their concern about the quarantine rules at place in Australia. The strict bio-bubble protocols have created a stir among English players and it is even speculated that some of the top players might opt out of the greatest battle in cricketing history.
Speaking on the same Broad said, “If you ask me if I would be happy to get on a plane to Australia in November, I would say yes. I am working tirelessly to get there. I don’t feel there will be a postponement. In my mind, it is 100 per cent clear that an England team of some description will embark on the tour. But if another player called me and told me they couldn’t commit, I would totally accept it."
“My entire focus at the moment is getting myself ready physically for what I am resigned to being the most unusual of Ashes tours. There is obviously a lot going on at the executive level to negotiate acceptable arrangements for the England team and my message to our bosses at the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) is simple: Give us the best possible chance to be mentally strong come January with the environment that is created," Broad was quoted as saying in his column for The Mail on Sunday.
The Ashes has been the most closely fought series in the most traditional format and is one if the oldest sporting competitions all across the globe. To opt-out of a tour of that stature won’t be easy for the players but with covid making things very difficult for the players mentally, we could actually see key players missing out the series.
“Let’s try to make it as comfortable as possible for us because if you go somewhere like Australia and have to bunker down, you won’t enjoy being in one of the greatest places on earth - and aren’t going to win at cricket either,” Broad added.
England cricketers had demanded the presence of their family members during the long tour but with the evolving covid protocols in Australia, it might not allow the presence of the family members. However Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive Nick Hockley is still working closely with the country’s federal and state governments to make a way for the English families to accompany them for the tour Down Under.
“It is now just a couple of weeks away from a squad being selected but players can’t sign up to something unless they know what they are signing up for. Everyone has to make their own decision and Ashley Giles, England’s director of cricket, has made it clear a player’s chances of selection in the future will not be harmed if they opt out in these circumstances," added Broad.
“The ECB have tried to keep us as informed as possible with the information that they are getting from Cricket Australia. It’s just that minimal detail has been available. I don’t think anyone can say hand on heart that we won’t be living in a bubble out there and that will be extremely challenging. Over my career, I’ve played three or four Test matches with flu or heavy colds, and you can get through, but with Covid, it rules you out completely.
“Catch it during the second Test of five say, and you will most likely miss the rest of the series given the length of isolation period required and the time then needed to build up match fitness," Broad concluded.
The Ashes is slated to begin on 8th October 2021.