'If you are selected on an Ashes tour, you should go' - Andrew Strauss to England players

Former England skipper Andrew Strauss has requested the England players to play the Ashes. Several senior players, including skipper Joe Root and vice-captain Jos Buttler, are mulling over skipping the series given the COVID-19 restrictions in Australia. At the moment, anyone entering Australia will have to serve 14-day quarantine. England Cricket Board (ECB) was hopeful of getting some special exemptions from the government of Australia but PM Scott Morrison denied the same.

Strauss, however, wants the England players to board the flight to Australia if selected in the England squad for the series, even if they have to make some compromises as Ashes is a prominent cricket event.

“To me, the Ashes need to go ahead. We are learning to live with Covid in this country and Australia is in a slightly different place. But the Ashes means a lot to a lot of people, and some of them are people that are going through a tough time themselves. There is a way of making it happen and I think we are moving in the right direction. I think there will be accommodations made and that families will get out there,” said Andrew Strauss.

Straus feels that CA, ECB and the Australian government will find out a strategy to make the series go ahead. He was hopeful that families of the England players will be allowed on the tour. “Personally, I think if you are selected on an Ashes tour, you should go. An Ashes tour is not the one to pull out of, in my opinion. But I understand that everyone sees things slightly differently. But I think that between Cricket Australia, the Australian government and the ECB, they will find a way that works for both the players and their families.”

Earlier, Australia skipper Tim Paine had said that Ashes will go ahead even if Root and other senior players decide to skip the series. The cricket fraternity is divided on whether England players should play the Ashes or not. Several former England cricketers like Kevin Pietersen and Michael Vaughan wants the series to be postponed, whereas their Australian counterparts wants the series to go ahead.