Ashes: "No special deals" for England families says Scott Morrison

Travel restrictions in Australia are set to be eased once 80 per cent of adults are vaccinated. However, this is unlikely to be before the start of the men’s Ashes, scheduled for December 8

Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, has said there will be "no special deals" for England players and their families entering the country ahead of the upcoming Ashes.

The five-match men’s Test series is scheduled to begin in Brisbane on December 8 while the final match is scheduled for January 12-18 in Perth. The women’s Ashes – a seven-match multi-format series – is scheduled to run from January 26 to February 19.

However, the men’s series is currently in doubt with a number of England players voicing their concerns about bubble fatigue, quarantine requirements and spending extended periods away from family.

The ECB and Cricket Australia have been in dialogue over recent months in an attempt to find a solution but are at the mercy of state governments and their differing travel restrictions. At present, travel restrictions are in force across the country, which are set to be eased once 80 per cent of adults are vaccinated. This, however, is unlikely to happen before the start of the men’s Ashes.

England Test players wait on Cricket Australia and government information before making Ashes call

Earlier in the week, Boris Johnson met with Morrison in Washington DC to discuss the issue and while the Australian prime minister accepted the concerns of England’s players, he made it clear his government would not grant special favours.

"I would love to see the Ashes to go ahead, as I shared with Boris [on Tuesday]," said Morrison. "But there’s no special deals there. I don’t see a great deal of difference in skilled workers or students, who will be able to come to Australia when you reach the vaccination rates.”

Johnson said: "I raised it [with Mr Morrison] and he said he was going to do his best for the families.  totally got the point that for cricketers it is very tough to ask people to be away from their families over Christmas. He merely undertook to come back and see if he could find a solution."