Former English skipper and currently the chair of the England and the Wales Cricket Board, Andrew Strauss is not in favour of the Ashes slated to be played later this year in Australia getting postponed. Instead he wants both the cricket boards to work out a possible way to allow the English players to travel Down Under with their family members.
Strauss feels the tour should go ahead despite several opinions being voiced by other former England skippers Michael Vaughan and Alastair Cook. Both felt that the series should be cancelled if the English players are not allowed to travel with their family members.
The English Test team is slated to travel to Australia in November for the first Test which is slated to be played at the Gabba in Brisbane from 8th December. However, in all likelihood, they won’t be allowed to be accompanied by their family members due to the stringent COVID-19 protocols in place in Australia.
"No, I wouldn't want a postponement, I would want to make sure that the players' families can get there," Strauss was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo on Tuesday.
"The last thing anyone wants is players having to make that choice between 'my family can't come and therefore I'm not going to go' or 'I'm going to go'. The solution to this is to find some sort of middle ground between the Australian Government, Cricket Australia, and the ECB, to make it as easy as possible for families to get out there and to have as few restrictions as possible when they are over there," Strauss further added
Meanwhile, recent reports in the British media states that most of the English players are not happy with the protocols in place in Australia and expressed their apprehension on touring Australia if they are refused to accompany their families on the long tour.
Strauss said that in these tumultuous times, it is practically not possible for the players to stay in Australia for such a long period of time without spending time with their families especially after what has happened in the last 18 months. Strauss wants everyone to work towards ensuring that the players are allowed to accompany their families on the tour rather than thinking of what will or may happen.
"Of course we all understand, having been through the pandemic here for the last 18 months, that this stuff (quarantine protocols) isn't easy. [It requires] setting precedent and all that sort of stuff, but I do think it is unrealistic to expect players to go over there for months on end without their family seeing them, especially with what's gone on over the last 18 months and all the time they've had (to) spend away from their families in bubbles," said Strauss.
"I think that's going to be asking them to go one step too far, and some sort of compromise needs to be reached. That's what everyone should be working towards at the moment, rather than worrying about something that may or may not happen,” the former ECB director concluded.