No special quarantine deals for English cricketers despite reports Ashes could collapse | Nick Tsagaris
British cricketers traveling to Australia for this summer’s Ashes series will not get any “special deals” allowing their partners or families to accompany them, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has declared.
Key points:
- Some English cricketers said they would not come to Australia for the Ashes unless their families were granted special quarantine exemptions
- UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly asked Australia to grant the favor
- Prime Minister Scott Morrison said no additional exemptions had been granted
While England’s cricket team can enter Australia under a special exemption, at this stage, their partners or families are not allowed to join them.
Several players said they would boycott the Test if their loved ones could not travel, and former England Test cricket captain Michael Vaughan said the packed cricket schedule meant multiple English players were facing the prospect of being isolated for several months unless exemptions are granted.
At a dinner in Washington this week, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly warned Mr. Morrison the whole tour could collapse if the existing rules were not relaxed.
Mr. Johnson reportedly tried to convince Mr. Morrison over dinner in the US.
Under Australia’s national plan out of the pandemic, international borders will open to vaccinated people once 80 percent of Australians over 16 are double-dosed.
Speaking to reporters in Washington, Mr. Morrison said no additional exemptions had been granted.
“I would love to see the Ashes go ahead, as I shared with Boris last night,” he told reporters in Washington.
“But there’s no special deals there, because what we’re looking to have is vaccinated people being able to travel.
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“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 those vaccination rates.
“Those who are coming for that purpose when it comes to their profession, which is playing cricket, I don’t see the difference between that and someone who’s coming as a skilled, qualified engineer or someone who’s coming to be ready for study.”
Cricket Australia ‘supremely confident’ all players will travel
The English team is due to arrive in Australia in November, ahead of the first Test in Brisbane in December.
But some cricketers with young children, like Ben Stokes or Jos Buttler, are likely to first play in the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates before flying directly to Australia, which means they could spend months without seeing anyone but their teammates.
Cricket Australia is in talks with the state and federal governments about quarantine arrangements for the players.
It managed to secure exemptions last summer for the families of Indian players, and a spokesman said they were “supremely confident that the full contingent will come and will play the full five Tests”.
Ben Stokes is one of several cricketers who may not see his young family for months under Australia’s rules.
The situation is politically challenging for Mr. Morrison, as many Australian citizens remain stranded overseas as a result of closed borders and limited quarantine capacity.
Michael Vaughan on border restrictions
Granting travel exemptions for the families of famous foreign cricketers would likely lead to criticism, given some Australians have not seen their loved ones since the pandemic began.
As Australia’s vaccine rollout begins to speed up, Mr. Morrison said the nation was moving closer towards opening borders.
“This week we will hit three-quarters of Australians aged over 16 first dose, and we will hit one in two having received their second dose. And those vaccination numbers will continue to rise,” he said.
“And as they rise, the opportunities to get back to life as normal as it can be living with the virus will just become closer each and every day.”
