Former England Test captain Joe Root says in retrospect they shouldn’t have toured Australia for the Ashes 2021-22 which was held under covid lockdown restrictions. England were handed a royal thrashing in the five-match series with Australia storming to a 4-0 win.
Root, who was the England captain back then, suggests it wasn’t the right call to fly to Australia with the players having to follow the strict rules that required players to spend 14 days in quarantine after arriving in the country.
The players were also kept in a bio-secure environment that prevented them form having any outside contact other than teammates, support staff and match officials. It was designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“Thinking of COVID, it was about keeping the lights on last time we went,” Root told reporters. “Arguably we shouldn’t have gone last time, should we, in retrospect? We did what we thought was the right thing at the time. We’ll be in a completely different place going into next time.”
Root is the latest to suggest that the covid protocols played a role in England’s horror show in Australia. Last year, former fast bowler Stuart Broad said he doesn’t count the 201-22 tour as ‘real Ashes’ and in his mind it’s a ‘void series’.
“Nothing was harsher than the last Ashes series,” Broad told the Daily Mail. “But in my mind I don’t class that as a real Ashes. The definition of Ashes cricket is elite sport with lots of passion and players at the top of their game.
“Nothing about that series was high level performance because of the COVID restrictions. The training facilities, the travel, not being able to socialise. I’ve written it off as a void series,” he added.
Australia toured England last year for the Ashes which ended in a 2-2 draw as Pat Cummins-led tourists retained the urn.
The next Ashes series will be held in 2025-26.
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