ECB confirm Australia series itinerary; T20Is to kick off tour on September 4
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have confirmed that the limited-overs series against Australia will start on September 4 in Southampton with the T20Is before the ODI series moves to Old Trafford. As per the UK government rules, Australian players don’t need to be quarantined on arrival.
While the series was almost confirmed, the official approval had yet to arrive at the ECB office and once it has, the board has confirmed the series between the arch-rivals that will conclude the English men’s international summer. This tour was initially slated to take place in July, but the spread of coronavirus all over the world pushed it for an indefinite period. And now the series will be played at the two designated venues before the players travel to the UAE for the Indian Premier League.
According to the schedule, the T20I series will kick-off the tour on September 4, with the last two matches being played on September 6 and September 8 in Southampton respectively. The caravan will then move to Manchester for the three ODIs, on September 11, September 13 and September 16 respectively. According to the UK government's guidelines, Australia are one of the countries from where you can travel to UK and not have any quarantine period on arrival.
"We owe a significant debt of gratitude to the players, staff and administrators of Cricket Australia for their efforts in getting this tour underway. Their co-operation to ensure these matches are staged is crucial to cricket in this country. It will also provide much-needed financial aid at all levels of cricket in England and Wales as we work through the challenges in front of us," ECB CEO Tom Harrison said, in a release on ECB.co.uk.
The plan stated that Australia's squad is expected to reach the UK on August 24 and they will have their base in Derbyshire for three days before heading to Southampton on August 27. An uncapped trio of Josh Philippe, Daniel Sams and Riley Meredith have been picked for the limited-overs series. Australia will also play an intra-squad 50-over practice game and three T20 practice matches before the series.
"It's vital for cricket that we do everything we can to keep the game going in these tough times. I am delighted with how the players have returned to their states from the break back in March. The whole squad has come back fitter and stronger, which is great testament to each of them. We have a massive assignment ahead with World Cups, Test series against India and South Africa and the Ashes next year. We can't wait to get back into it again."
Australia's T20 and ODI squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Daniel Sams, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa