England pacer Stuart Broad has urged the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to ensure that players are comfortable for Ashes tour amid travel curbs. English players have asked Cricket Australia – the host for Ashes 2021- and the ECB to allow their family members to join them in the Kangaroo island. Australia has closed its borders to curb COVID-19. With limited flights and 14-day mandatory managed isolation for returning citizens, the protocols are a hurdle for the players’ near and dear ones to attend the iconic series. 

While several English stars, including skipper Joe Root, demanding a postponement in the Ashes, Broad believes the series will be conducted on schedule. In any case, the 35-year-old said players would want to be promised the best possible environment for the tour.

Also read: Tim Paine confident of making Ashes return after invasive neck surgery

“I don’t feel there will be a postponement. In my mind, it is 100 percent clear that an England team of some description will embark on the tour. My message to our bosses at the ECB is simple: Give us the best possible chance to be mentally strong come January with the environment that is created,” Broad wrote in his Mail on Sunday column.

Stuart Broad did not participate in England’s home series versus Virat Kohli’s India due to a calf injury. He is working on his fitness and said that he would be happy to travel to Australia.

Also read: IPL 2021 returns for second leg with T20 World Cup in focus

“Let’s try to make it as comfortable as possible for us because if you go somewhere like Australia and have to bunker down, you won’t enjoy being in one of the greatest places on earth — and aren’t going to win at cricket either.

“It is now just a couple of weeks away from a squad being selected but players can’t sign up to something unless they know what they are signing up for,” he added. 

The ECB)said last month that it is “very confident” the Ashes, starting in Brisbane on December 8, will go ahead as planned. 

England are set to play the Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in October and November before heading to Australia. 

Also read: Pressure created on Pakistan cricket after New Zealand pull out: Ramiz Raja

“As long as I’ve played we’ve always spent long periods away from home and that is a challenge in itself. But certainly it has been heightened by the environment we find ourselves in, and it’s just important we keep talking about it,” Joe Root had said in August. 

“We‘ve said from the outset that we don’t think this is a sustainable way of living and playing and we’ve tried to manage it as best we can. If you find it getting too much you have to talk to people and give yourself the best chance of staying in a good place,” he added.