England to decide on Ashes series in Australia this week
England cricket officials will announce this week if the scheduled Ashes series in Australia will go ahead.
The tour is in doubt because of restrictions in place in Australia due to the pandemic.
The England and Wales Cricket Board said today that there is "regular and positive dialogue" with Cricket Australia about arrangements for an Ashes tour "with health and wellbeing at the forefront."
"We will continue talking to our players this week to share the latest information and seek feedback," the ECB said.
England captain Joe Root (left) and Australia captain Tim Paine before posing for photographs during the nets session at Edgbaston, Birmingham. (Photo by Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images) Getty
"Later this week the ECB Board will meet to decide whether the conditions in place are sufficient for the Tour to go ahead and enable the selection of a squad befitting a series of this significance."
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The Ashes series is scheduled to start on December 8, but with interstate borders still closed and Queensland and Western Australia adopting a hardline attitude, it remains clouded how the five-Test series will play out.
In recent weeks, a number of former England players have hit out at Australia's strict COVID-19 procedures, including Kevin Pietersen, who said it would be foolish for players to commit to the series unless quarantine restrictions were abolished due to the travel headaches it would put on players' families.
