The Ashes series down under is expected to be given the go-ahead tomorrow by the ECB after Cricket Australia gave assurances that the England players’ families would not be put under strict quarantine conditions.
The families, whether those arriving at the start of the tour in Brisbane or later in a resort in upstate Victoria, in the Yarra Valley, will not be confined to their rooms for the 14-day isolation period. CA had initially refused to guarantee exemption from a hard quarantine period, which had cast doubt on the likelihood of the tour going ahead.
When CA then gave an online briefing to the England players reassuring them that their families would be able to move freely around their hotel resort, many of the players, including captain Joe Root were sufficiently encouraged to commit to going on the five-match tour which is due to begin on December 8.
It will be interesting to see how Australian citizens, undergoing months of lockdown and restrictions on returning to the country, will react to quarantine decisions being made not by the federal government or by state authorities, but by the Australian Cricket Board.
The decisions are not being made by the Australian Cricket Board. They are being made by the Australian Government in conjunction with/being relayed by the Australian Cricket Board. I will say more about this from personal experience next week. But yes I can see why Australian citizens, who have been restricted from moving between Stated or so far as returning to Australia is concerned, might be upset by this.
The Ashes series down under is expected to be given the go-ahead tomorrow by the ECB after Cricket Australia gave assurances that the England players’ families would not be put under strict quarantine conditions.
The families, whether those arriving at the start of the tour in Brisbane or later in a resort in upstate Victoria, in the Yarra Valley, will not be confined to their rooms for the 14-day isolation period. CA had initially refused to guarantee exemption from a hard quarantine period, which had cast doubt on the likelihood of the tour going ahead.
When CA then gave an online briefing to the England players reassuring them that their families would be able to move freely around their hotel resort, many of the players, including captain Joe Root were sufficiently encouraged to commit to going on the five-match tour which is due to begin on December 8.
It will be interesting to see how Australian citizens, undergoing months of lockdown and restrictions on returning to the country, will react to quarantine decisions being made not by the federal government or by state authorities, but by the Australian Cricket Board.
The decisions are not being made by the Australian Cricket Board. They are being made by the Australian Government in conjunction with/being relayed by the Australian Cricket Board. I will say more about this from personal experience next week. But yes I can see why Australian citizens, who have been restricted from moving between Stated or so far as returning to Australia is concerned, might be upset by this.
The article gives the impression that Cricket Australia were in a position to makes guarantees of exemption from quarantine. The whole thing is a mess, because neither CA nor the ECB can give any reassurances to the players or their families, as they're not in charge. And it's worse than here in England, because there are both federal and state laws, which, in many cases (and for political reasons) are in conflict.
I think we (in the UK) screwed up a tiny bit, when we had players who were allowed to play county cricket in England, but not in Wales. The situation is much, much more complicated in Australia.
My prediction is that the Ashes will go ahead and it will be an absolutely terrible performance by a lacklustre, inadequate, decimated England squad. I really hope one of those two predictions turns out to be wrong.
The Ashes series down under is expected to be given the go-ahead tomorrow by the ECB after Cricket Australia gave assurances that the England players’ families would not be put under strict quarantine conditions.
The families, whether those arriving at the start of the tour in Brisbane or later in a resort in upstate Victoria, in the Yarra Valley, will not be confined to their rooms for the 14-day isolation period. CA had initially refused to guarantee exemption from a hard quarantine period, which had cast doubt on the likelihood of the tour going ahead.
When CA then gave an online briefing to the England players reassuring them that their families would be able to move freely around their hotel resort, many of the players, including captain Joe Root were sufficiently encouraged to commit to going on the five-match tour which is due to begin on December 8.
It will be interesting to see how Australian citizens, undergoing months of lockdown and restrictions on returning to the country, will react to quarantine decisions being made not by the federal government or by state authorities, but by the Australian Cricket Board.
The decisions are not being made by the Australian Cricket Board. They are being made by the Australian Government in conjunction with/being relayed by the Australian Cricket Board. I will say more about this from personal experience next week. But yes I can see why Australian citizens, who have been restricted from moving between Stated or so far as returning to Australia is concerned, might be upset by this.
The article gives the impression that Cricket Australia were in a position to makes guarantees of exemption from quarantine. The whole thing is a mess, because neither CA nor the ECB can give any reassurances to the players or their families, as they're not in charge. And it's worse than here in England, because there are both federal and state laws, which, in many cases (and for political reasons) are in conflict.
I think we (in the UK) screwed up a tiny bit, when we had players who were allowed to play county cricket in England, but not in Wales. The situation is much, much more complicated in Australia.
My prediction is that the Ashes will go ahead and it will be an absolutely terrible performance by a lacklustre, inadequate, decimated England squad. I really hope one of those two predictions turns out to be wrong.
Cricket Australia give the guarantees because they are backed by the Australian Government. There is too much at stake financially for the Australian Government and each of those States for it not to go ahead estimated at £100m plus. I predicted last week that it would go ahead. Both Root and Payne were posturing and jockeying for position.
We were always going to struggle anyway given that Archer and Stokes were already missing. An opportunity for others to step up.
Ian Watmore steps down form ECB role with immediate effect.
reading his CV, it is littered with the many jobs that he's held for a very short time, e.g. the FA, various civil service roles .. you do wonder how and why these useless bureaucrats keep getting plum, and very well paid, jobs
Ian Watmore steps down form ECB role with immediate effect.
reading his CV, it is littered with the many jobs that he's held for a very short time, e.g. the FA, various civil service roles .. you do wonder how and why these useless bureaucrats keep getting plum, and very well paid, jobs
Minus column - Watmore was on £150k plus benefits for three days a week. Harrison's salary is £720K plus benefits. The Hundred lost money.
Plus column - the ECB made 62 redundancies this year.
Ian Watmore steps down form ECB role with immediate effect.
reading his CV, it is littered with the many jobs that he's held for a very short time, e.g. the FA, various civil service roles .. you do wonder how and why these useless bureaucrats keep getting plum, and very well paid, jobs
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced the award of Central Contracts for England Men's international cricket for 2021-22.
Under the new system, 20 annual contracts have been awarded on a 'single' contract list instead of the previous separation of red ball and white ball contracts introduced in 2016.
The contracts awards panel, Managing Director of Men's England Cricket, Ashley Giles and Head Coach, Chris Silverwood, has also awarded four England Increment Contracts and three England Pace Bowling Development Contracts.
The new system has been developed working in consultation with the players, Team England Player Partnership (TEPP) and the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA). It is designed to meet England's future needs in what has become a fluid and dynamic landscape.
The system considers the likelihood of players featuring in England teams across formats in the next 12 months, whilst also recognising performances in the preceding year.
Considerations were also agreed against a busy international schedule, made challenging by additional Covid-related constraints, and taking into account the mental wellbeing and welfare of the players.
In addition to the 20 Central Contracts, awards have been made for Increment Contracts and Pace Bowling Development Contracts. This structure recognises players that may feature for England on a less predictable basis and supports developing and managing high potential pace bowlers across all formats.
The contracts, which cover a 12-month period commencing 1 October 2021, have been awarded to the following players:
England Men's Central Contracts
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire) James Anderson (Lancashire) Jofra Archer (Sussex) Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire) Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire) Rory Burns (Surrey) Jos Buttler (Lancashire) Zak Crawley (Kent) Sam Curran (Surrey) Jack Leach (Somerset) Dawid Malan (Yorkshire) Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) Ollie Pope (Surrey) Adil Rashid (Yorkshire) Ollie Robinson (Sussex) Joe Root (Yorkshire) Jason Roy (Surrey) Ben Stokes (Durham) Chris Woakes (Warwickshire) Mark Wood (Durham)
England Increment Contracts
Dom Bess (Yorkshire) Tom Curran (Surrey) Chris Jordan (Surrey) Liam Livingstone (Lancashire)
England Pace Bowling Development Contracts
Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire) Craig Overton (Somerset) Olly Stone (Warwickshire)
Somerset spinner Jack Leach, Yorkshire batsman Dawid Malan and Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson all receive Central Contracts for the first time.
Lancashire all-rounder Liam Livingstone is awarded an increment contract for the first time after his excellent campaign during the English summer.
Surrey's Tom Curran returns to an increment contract having had a white-ball contract in 2020/21.
Managing Director of Men's England Cricket, Ashley Giles, said: "I would like to thank TEPP and the players for all their constructive input through the process of developing this new system, which I believe is the fairest and most transparent way of rewarding players across all formats.
"We have worked well to get to this stage and the refinements made will take into account the amount of cricket we will be playing across formats over the next period of the ICC Future Tours Programme.
"Since the inception of central contracts in 2002, the system has facilitated improved preparation, performance and professionalism of the England team and has ensured that players are well rewarded for representing their country at the elite level.
"The international game continues to evolve, and we have to be mindful that we have to lead the way in player performance across cricket's ever-changing landscape. Our objective remains the same to develop world-class players in all three formats as we strive to become the most respected team in the world.
"I would like to congratulate all the players offered agreements for the coming year, particularly newcomers Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, and Ollie Robinson. Receiving your first central contract is a great moment in any player's career. They will all play a pivotal role in England's fortunes over the next 12 months."
Hameed missing out completely is puzzling, when Crawley has retained his central contract - do they see Crawley as a potential white ball player as well? Sibley misses out, that's an indication he's out in the cold
Feels odd that Leach has got his first full central contract, when he's not played all summer
Hameed missing out completely is puzzling, when Crawley has retained his central contract - do they see Crawley as a potential white ball player as well? Sibley misses out, that's an indication he's out in the cold
Feels odd that Leach has got his first full central contract, when he's not played all summer
That's a very good spot regarding Hameed. Can only think that it's because he's only been back for a few games. Crawley is a better white ball batsman than he is a red ball one at the moment. His T20 average is 32.23 at 150.96.
The other aspect is that there are only three or four of those with any sort of contract that you could say are purely red ball players. If and when Anderson and Broad retire we may be won to just a couple of batsman that are. The signs of how the game has changed.
Moeen has a full central contract but has retired from test cricket, how does that work? Shouldn’t it be white ball only?
Edit: just seen Morgan has a full contract too, so I guess fair enough.
There are no red and white ball contracts because of the situation we had with the likes of Moeen, Malan and Bairstow who were on white ball contracts (£170K) and displacing players in the Test who were on red ball contracts (£700K)
The two other surprising omissions are Sam Billings and David Willey given that they are both in the England WC T20 squad. Perhaps Kent will actually get to see more of the former next year especially as Billings might not get an IPL contract either - he hasn't played a single game for Delhi Capitals this season though that isn't totally surprising given that they have Pant.
Over recent weeks we have made excellent progress in moving forward on the England Men's Ashes Tour.
To facilitate further progress and allow a squad to be selected, The ECB Board has met today and given its approval for the tour to go ahead. This decision is subject to several critical conditions being met before we travel.
We look forward to the ongoing assistance from Cricket Australia in resolving these matters in the coming days.
The two other surprising omissions are Sam Billings and David Willey given that they are both in the England WC T20 squad. Perhaps Kent will actually get to see more of the former next year especially as Billings might not get an IPL contract either - he hasn't played a single game for Delhi Capitals this season though that isn't totally surprising given that they have Pant.
It just means we pay Bilbo's wages, but still lose him next summer when he's sub fielder for England...
Over recent weeks we have made excellent progress in moving forward on the England Men's Ashes Tour.
To facilitate further progress and allow a squad to be selected, The ECB Board has met today and given its approval for the tour to go ahead. This decision is subject to several critical conditions being met before we travel.
We look forward to the ongoing assistance from Cricket Australia in resolving these matters in the coming days.
The conditions being that Australia don't pick Smith, Labuschagne, Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins
England Men's Test Squad - Ashes Tour of Australia 2021-22
Joe Root (Yorkshire) Captain James Anderson (Lancashire) Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire) Dom Bess (Yorkshire) Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire) Rory Burns (Surrey) Jos Buttler (Lancashire) Zak Crawley (Kent) Haseeb Hameed (Nottinghamshire) Dan Lawrence (Essex) Jack Leach (Somerset) Dawid Malan (Yorkshire) Craig Overton (Somerset) Ollie Pope (Surrey) Ollie Robinson (Sussex) Chris Woakes (Warwickshire) Mark Wood (Durham)
Not sure what I'd go with, probably just about this: Burns Hameed Malan Root Pope Bairstow Buttler Robinson Wood Broad/Anderson Leach
Woakes unlucky to miss out but Robinson and Wood will be important.
Trouble with that side is only 4 bowlers. Ideally would like to use Wood in short sharp bursts. Won't be possible in that line up. That could get Woakes in the team.
Matt Parkinson and foakes desperately unlucky to miss out. Jonny bairstow is genuinely going to make it to 100 tests without having ever nailing down any role, isn’t he?
Not sure what I'd go with, probably just about this: Burns Hameed Malan Root Pope Bairstow Buttler Robinson Wood Broad/Anderson Leach
Woakes unlucky to miss out but Robinson and Wood will be important.
Trouble with that side is only 4 bowlers. Ideally would like to use Wood in short sharp bursts. Won't be possible in that line up. That could get Woakes in the team.
Agreed but difficult without Stokes and even Ali who are capable of batting top 7. If we play 5 bowlers we'll have Woakes at 7 and then we don't even have a Curran at 8. I guess we could play Bess or Overton who aren't terrible batsman. Just concerned that our batting line up is fragile so need as much depth as possible.
Matt Parkinson and foakes desperately unlucky to miss out. Jonny bairstow is genuinely going to make it to 100 tests without having ever nailing down any role, isn’t he?
I imagine Parkinson will be in the England Lions squad
And knowing the way England have operated in recent months, will probably end up leaping ahead of Leach!
Fair comment re the Lions and the ready availability of reserves. Leach should be first choice but I think they probably just didn't want the understudy to be turning the ball the same way i.e. in to left handers as Australia will probably have three of them in their top five.
Recently I have been critical regarding the reluctance of certain England players to commit to playing in the Ashes and the rhetoric that has been forthcoming from the England camp in that regard. I also intimated that I was relatively certain that the Ashes would go ahead albeit that I wasn't certain that no player would turn down this opportunity, for some, of a lifetime. A bit more "meat on the bone" behind those thoughts.
This morning my son, Seb, landed in Australia. He, as part of a squad of 18-20 year olds from the UK, will be at the Darren Lehmann Academy (DLCA) in Adelaide for six months. Getting them there has been incredibly difficult and they will, so we are told, be the only non professional cricketers (bar Jas Singh who has just signed a contract with Kent) in Australia.
The DLCA have been dealing with the Australian Government for months and months in order to get the boys in to the country. The exemptions required are because of the Covid restrictions that even returning Australian residents have been placed under - the squad's exemption has been granted under the "Elite Sportsperson" category and they are in addition to the weekly allowance for returning Australian citizens. Each one of the boys has had to have been double vaccinated and they also had to produce a negative test within 48 hours of flying. Seb had to isolate (as did my wife and I) at home for the last couple of weeks because the DLCA confirmed that it would be impossible for any person testing positive to be allowed to go, even at a later date - so that would be the end of his trip. The group even had to be split up and travel two weeks apart such were the requirements imposed by the Australian Government.
Seb has had a journey lasting, door to door, 34 hours (economy class and including seven hours cooped up in one room together in Singapore) and he will now be alone in isolation for 14 days in a hotel room with no access to any other human or facilities for keeping fit - not a resort where the Ashes squad will, with their families be free to move within the resort. Their luggage allowance was 35kg which has to include all their cricket kit and once you take into account a cricket bag containing a couple of bats, helmet, keeping and batting gloves and pads etc etc that actually brings the allowance down to about 18kg which isn't a lot given the duration of the trip. Doubt the Ashes squad had such limitations!
Despite the fact that there is a selection process for the DLCA from all those that applied to go (all are playing or have played county age group as a minimum and many are in county academies/playing 2s cricket), we, as families, have had to fund the trip ourselves and pay the for the cost of visas and isolation too. The vast majority of the squad went to private schools with Jas and Seb amongst the minority that didn't. I did speak to the parents at the airport of one of the other boys who went to a State school and who was due to go last year but couldn't due to circumstances beyond their control. The lad spent the last 12 months working to help his family pay for this. These boys are going to Australia to improve themselves as cricketers and do not have the underpin of a wage from a central contract ranging from probably £300k to £700K with potential additional contracts from their County, IPL, Big Bash, The Hundred etc etc.
Given the above, when I hear about England players questioning whether they should go and play in the Ashes I have to, frankly, laugh. Their trip is for 10 weeks, travelling first class and they will be allowed to see their families who will not be under the same restrictions as Seb and his group - the boys even have to find their own place to stay over Christmas as the accommodation provided by the DLCA won't be available for two weeks during the holiday shutdown. We will not see Seb for six months because we have little chance of being allowed to visit him as we had originally planned to do.
I don't always agree with Ian Botham but he was totally right in this instance. Playing for England should be an honour and that is how all our players should be viewing that especially when they are being rewarded so well for doing so. Perhaps if they weren't guaranteed their salary, come what may, their attitude might be different. We will probably get stuffed in the Ashes but so what? We have in recent times too so should the likes of Root and Buttler have decided to pull out, as they had threatened to do, then more fool them. It's not as if they have the excuse of Covid as used in South Africa for us leaving or terrorism as the reason offered by the ECB for the recent refusal to tour Pakistan. Or the defence that they wouldn't see their families as touring parties to Australia used to have to put up with - for longer tours too.
All the boys will train four days a week with the DLCA and/or play a game in that time. They are also attached to a club that they will play for at weekends and train once a week with. Very few of them will be playing Grade 1 cricket, initially at least, until they have justified themselves as the standard is so high - it is the equivalent of playing County 2s and even someone like Jordan Cox had to start in Grade 2 last summer.
Seb will have a journey of over an hour on public transport to training and matches but is fortunate in one respect and that is that the coach at his club is one of only two players (the other being Jacques Kallis) to have achieved the combination of having scored over 5,000 plus runs, taken more than 100 wickets and 100 plus catches in both Test and ODIs - former West Indies and Kent legend Carl Hooper who married an Aussie and has lived there for over 20 years.
This will be a fantastic experience and opportunity for Seb and these lads and none of us underestimate how difficult a process it has been to get them there. It should also be a wonderful opportunity for those playing for England in the Ashes in Australia. But should the pros not want to do so I do know of one other squad in situ who would be more than happy to take their place - for nothing and the result of the series might still be the same!
Comments
I think we (in the UK) screwed up a tiny bit, when we had players who were allowed to play county cricket in England, but not in Wales. The situation is much, much more complicated in Australia.
My prediction is that the Ashes will go ahead and it will be an absolutely terrible performance by a lacklustre, inadequate, decimated England squad. I really hope one of those two predictions turns out to be wrong.
We were always going to struggle anyway given that Archer and Stokes were already missing. An opportunity for others to step up.
Plus column - the ECB made 62 redundancies this year.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced the award of Central Contracts for England Men's international cricket for 2021-22.
Under the new system, 20 annual contracts have been awarded on a 'single' contract list instead of the previous separation of red ball and white ball contracts introduced in 2016.
The contracts awards panel, Managing Director of Men's England Cricket, Ashley Giles and Head Coach, Chris Silverwood, has also awarded four England Increment Contracts and three England Pace Bowling Development Contracts.
The new system has been developed working in consultation with the players, Team England Player Partnership (TEPP) and the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA). It is designed to meet England's future needs in what has become a fluid and dynamic landscape.
The system considers the likelihood of players featuring in England teams across formats in the next 12 months, whilst also recognising performances in the preceding year.
Considerations were also agreed against a busy international schedule, made challenging by additional Covid-related constraints, and taking into account the mental wellbeing and welfare of the players.
In addition to the 20 Central Contracts, awards have been made for Increment Contracts and Pace Bowling Development Contracts. This structure recognises players that may feature for England on a less predictable basis and supports developing and managing high potential pace bowlers across all formats.
The contracts, which cover a 12-month period commencing 1 October 2021, have been awarded to the following players:
England Men's Central Contracts
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)
James Anderson (Lancashire)
Jofra Archer (Sussex)
Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire)
Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
Rory Burns (Surrey)
Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
Zak Crawley (Kent)
Sam Curran (Surrey)
Jack Leach (Somerset)
Dawid Malan (Yorkshire)
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex)
Ollie Pope (Surrey)
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
Ollie Robinson (Sussex)
Joe Root (Yorkshire)
Jason Roy (Surrey)
Ben Stokes (Durham)
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
Mark Wood (Durham)
England Increment Contracts
Dom Bess (Yorkshire)
Tom Curran (Surrey)
Chris Jordan (Surrey)
Liam Livingstone (Lancashire)
England Pace Bowling Development Contracts
Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)
Craig Overton (Somerset)
Olly Stone (Warwickshire)
Somerset spinner Jack Leach, Yorkshire batsman Dawid Malan and Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson all receive Central Contracts for the first time.
Lancashire all-rounder Liam Livingstone is awarded an increment contract for the first time after his excellent campaign during the English summer.
Surrey's Tom Curran returns to an increment contract having had a white-ball contract in 2020/21.
Managing Director of Men's England Cricket, Ashley Giles, said: "I would like to thank TEPP and the players for all their constructive input through the process of developing this new system, which I believe is the fairest and most transparent way of rewarding players across all formats.
"We have worked well to get to this stage and the refinements made will take into account the amount of cricket we will be playing across formats over the next period of the ICC Future Tours Programme.
"Since the inception of central contracts in 2002, the system has facilitated improved preparation, performance and professionalism of the England team and has ensured that players are well rewarded for representing their country at the elite level.
"The international game continues to evolve, and we have to be mindful that we have to lead the way in player performance across cricket's ever-changing landscape. Our objective remains the same to develop world-class players in all three formats as we strive to become the most respected team in the world.
"I would like to congratulate all the players offered agreements for the coming year, particularly newcomers Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, and Ollie Robinson. Receiving your first central contract is a great moment in any player's career. They will all play a pivotal role in England's fortunes over the next 12 months."
Feels odd that Leach has got his first full central contract, when he's not played all summer
The other aspect is that there are only three or four of those with any sort of contract that you could say are purely red ball players. If and when Anderson and Broad retire we may be won to just a couple of batsman that are. The signs of how the game has changed.
Edit: just seen Morgan has a full contract too, so I guess fair enough.
Statement from the ECB re the Ashes:
Over recent weeks we have made excellent progress in moving forward on the England Men's Ashes Tour.
To facilitate further progress and allow a squad to be selected, The ECB Board has met today and given its approval for the tour to go ahead. This decision is subject to several critical conditions being met before we travel.
We look forward to the ongoing assistance from Cricket Australia in resolving these matters in the coming days.
England Men's Test Squad - Ashes Tour of Australia 2021-22
Joe Root (Yorkshire) Captain
James Anderson (Lancashire)
Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire)
Dom Bess (Yorkshire)
Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
Rory Burns (Surrey)
Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
Zak Crawley (Kent)
Haseeb Hameed (Nottinghamshire)
Dan Lawrence (Essex)
Jack Leach (Somerset)
Dawid Malan (Yorkshire)
Craig Overton (Somerset)
Ollie Pope (Surrey)
Ollie Robinson (Sussex)
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
Mark Wood (Durham)
Burns
Hameed
Malan
Root
Pope
Bairstow
Buttler
Robinson
Wood
Broad/Anderson
Leach
Woakes unlucky to miss out but Robinson and Wood will be important.
And knowing the way England have operated in recent months, will probably end up leaping ahead of Leach!
This morning my son, Seb, landed in Australia. He, as part of a squad of 18-20 year olds from the UK, will be at the Darren Lehmann Academy (DLCA) in Adelaide for six months. Getting them there has been incredibly difficult and they will, so we are told, be the only non professional cricketers (bar Jas Singh who has just signed a contract with Kent) in Australia.
The DLCA have been dealing with the Australian Government for months and months in order to get the boys in to the country. The exemptions required are because of the Covid restrictions that even returning Australian residents have been placed under - the squad's exemption has been granted under the "Elite Sportsperson" category and they are in addition to the weekly allowance for returning Australian citizens. Each one of the boys has had to have been double vaccinated and they also had to produce a negative test within 48 hours of flying. Seb had to isolate (as did my wife and I) at home for the last couple of weeks because the DLCA confirmed that it would be impossible for any person testing positive to be allowed to go, even at a later date - so that would be the end of his trip. The group even had to be split up and travel two weeks apart such were the requirements imposed by the Australian Government.
Seb has had a journey lasting, door to door, 34 hours (economy class and including seven hours cooped up in one room together in Singapore) and he will now be alone in isolation for 14 days in a hotel room with no access to any other human or facilities for keeping fit - not a resort where the Ashes squad will, with their families be free to move within the resort. Their luggage allowance was 35kg which has to include all their cricket kit and once you take into account a cricket bag containing a couple of bats, helmet, keeping and batting gloves and pads etc etc that actually brings the allowance down to about 18kg which isn't a lot given the duration of the trip. Doubt the Ashes squad had such limitations!
Despite the fact that there is a selection process for the DLCA from all those that applied to go (all are playing or have played county age group as a minimum and many are in county academies/playing 2s cricket), we, as families, have had to fund the trip ourselves and pay the for the cost of visas and isolation too. The vast majority of the squad went to private schools with Jas and Seb amongst the minority that didn't. I did speak to the parents at the airport of one of the other boys who went to a State school and who was due to go last year but couldn't due to circumstances beyond their control. The lad spent the last 12 months working to help his family pay for this. These boys are going to Australia to improve themselves as cricketers and do not have the underpin of a wage from a central contract ranging from probably £300k to £700K with potential additional contracts from their County, IPL, Big Bash, The Hundred etc etc.
Given the above, when I hear about England players questioning whether they should go and play in the Ashes I have to, frankly, laugh. Their trip is for 10 weeks, travelling first class and they will be allowed to see their families who will not be under the same restrictions as Seb and his group - the boys even have to find their own place to stay over Christmas as the accommodation provided by the DLCA won't be available for two weeks during the holiday shutdown. We will not see Seb for six months because we have little chance of being allowed to visit him as we had originally planned to do.
I don't always agree with Ian Botham but he was totally right in this instance. Playing for England should be an honour and that is how all our players should be viewing that especially when they are being rewarded so well for doing so. Perhaps if they weren't guaranteed their salary, come what may, their attitude might be different. We will probably get stuffed in the Ashes but so what? We have in recent times too so should the likes of Root and Buttler have decided to pull out, as they had threatened to do, then more fool them. It's not as if they have the excuse of Covid as used in South Africa for us leaving or terrorism as the reason offered by the ECB for the recent refusal to tour Pakistan. Or the defence that they wouldn't see their families as touring parties to Australia used to have to put up with - for longer tours too.
All the boys will train four days a week with the DLCA and/or play a game in that time. They are also attached to a club that they will play for at weekends and train once a week with. Very few of them will be playing Grade 1 cricket, initially at least, until they have justified themselves as the standard is so high - it is the equivalent of playing County 2s and even someone like Jordan Cox had to start in Grade 2 last summer.
Seb will have a journey of over an hour on public transport to training and matches but is fortunate in one respect and that is that the coach at his club is one of only two players (the other being Jacques Kallis) to have achieved the combination of having scored over 5,000 plus runs, taken more than 100 wickets and 100 plus catches in both Test and ODIs - former West Indies and Kent legend Carl Hooper who married an Aussie and has lived there for over 20 years.
This will be a fantastic experience and opportunity for Seb and these lads and none of us underestimate how difficult a process it has been to get them there. It should also be a wonderful opportunity for those playing for England in the Ashes in Australia. But should the pros not want to do so I do know of one other squad in situ who would be more than happy to take their place - for nothing and the result of the series might still be the same!