Australia Captain Tim Paine Says He’s Ready for Ashes Despite Injury
The captain of the Australia cricket team, Tim Paine, has been through surgery on an injury to his neck but says he will be fit and ready for the Ashes. Australian cricket fans will be incredibly happy to hear this information. The wicket-keeper red ball captain of the Aussie cricket team has been suffering from a pinched nerve that affected his mobility and use of his left arm, according to physios. The Ashes are set to begin on December 8 and both teams will be hoping to peak in time for the big match.
There are many difficulties facing travelers heading towards Australia now. With fears mounting over whether the England team will be able to bring their families, several players have already threatened to pull out entirely. ©djedj/Pixabay
The Australian cricket team is going through a building period right now. They have gathered a brilliant squad stacked full of young and senior talent, and they are trying to overcome the challenges of the Ashes. As the holders of the famous wooden urn, the Aussies certainly have a target on their backs going into the series. With the matches being played back on home soil, it will be a great benefit to the team to have the home support behind them.
Looking at the England squad, they will be hoping to put in a much stronger performance than the previous test match series back in 2019. Back then it was the maiden match for new England star Jofra Archer who put in a strong bowling performance over the course of the five tests. There were other notable performances, particularly from Ben Stokes with the bat. But it wasn’t to be, as the match ended a draw meaning Australia retained the Ashes.
With Steve Smith playing the best cricket of his life over the last Ashes series many will be expecting him to deal some serious punishment with the bat again this time around. If that wasn’t enough, pace bowler Pat Cummins will be fully fit and ready to ruin English wickets as he did so successfully on the last series, finishing as the leading wicket-taker.
England Players May Pull Out of the Series Due to Travel Concerns
With so much happening right now in the world, it does feel sometimes difficult to highlight the teething problems of professional athletes. The Australia cricket team may cancel a match with Afghanistan over the new government’s plans to ban women’s sport in the country. With this perspective in mind, it is a worthy reminder for all of us of the power and influence that sport can have on the world.
The England players who have raised concerns, in this case, are specifically looking at the agreement in place with the travel restrictions to Australia. At the current moment, it is extremely difficult to travel to and from Australia, the border has been put under strict control as cases of the virus spiked in certain regions. Otherwise, there are just the usual travel restrictions to consider before traveling.
In this instance, some England players have tried to receive guarantees from their organizing committee that their families would be able to travel along with them for the long duration of the series. This has been agreed on in principle but is still being questioned by some in Australia. England cricketers have said that they would not be willing to be away from their families for such a long duration, and if they are banned from crossing the border during the matches then they will also not be participating.
The current reporting suggests that up to ten players could be pulling out of the series due to the strictest Covid quarantine restrictions in the world currently being implemented by Australia. The Aussie cricketers are themselves currently in a quarantined hotel in Adelaide after returning from a white-ball series in Bangladesh and India. The chief health officer also recently changed his mind over their access to training facilities, saying the team would have to always remain in the hotel until the 2 weeks are up.
If the country is willing to do this to its own players in the name of public health, then it really doesn’t look likely they will allow families of the England players to freely come into the country as tourists. It remains to be seen how the situation will be resolved.
