England have committed to touring Australia for the Ashes series, after players' concerns over COVID-19 conditions were resolved at a meeting between the countries' cricket boards and captain Joe Root.
Root confirmed his participation in the five-test series at the meeting and will likely be joined by a full-strength squad, the Daily Telegraph reports, despite players voicing hesitancy over touring in a COVID-19 'bubble'.
Cricket Australia (CA), the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Australian authorities have negotiated for months over the touring conditions in a country where international arrivals must be isolated in quarantine hotels for 14 days, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status.
One of the biggest sticking points has been whether family members can join England players in Australia over the Christmas and New Year period. Australia's borders are effectively closed to non-citizens and non-permanent residents.
Australian white-ball captain Aaron Finch sympathises "fully" with England players' concerns, but was glad to hear a resolution had been reached.
"They've played a lot of test cricket, so I can understand where they're coming from," Finch says.
"Guys are on the road for a lot longer than what tours used to go, when you're adding on quarantine at the start and potentially at the end.
"That is difficult, but it's great to see Joe's supported that and they're going to come down."
Australian media report authorities are offering England's players, staff and families the use of a Gold Coast resort in Queensland state for quarantine, before the first test starts in Brisbane on December 8.
Families who arrive for the Christmas period may be accommodated at a resort in the Yarra Valley on the fringe of Melbourne before the Boxing Day test.
Reuters
