Ashes 2021-22 | Cricket Australia optimistic for fully vaccinated crowds at the Ashes
Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley has stated that the board is hopeful of having fully vaccinated crowds during the Ashes series later this year. CA is also aiming at giving assurances to the ECB and England players of being able to be accompanied by family members on the tour.
The Ashes series, scheduled to be played from December 8 to January 18, could be played in full-capacity crowds, subject to the vaccination status of the public.
CA chief executive Nick Hockley, on Wednesday, stated that the series would proceed as planned, despite the lockdowns and interstate border closures due to the covid-19 outbreaks in Sydney and Melbourne.
"I think that's where we will work closely with the health authorities, with the venues, and certainly we obviously want full crowds," Hockley told SEN. "We want crowds back and enjoying the cricket and that's something we will work through over the coming months and as we have done throughout the last couple of months we'll take our lead from the health authorities. We remain extremely optimistic."
The CA is also aiming at assuring the touring party that they’d be able to be accompanied by their family members during the long season. The decision however, rests on the government, as international borders currently remain closed with restrictions on those who can enter and strict quarantine rules.
"Our hope is that over the course of the coming weeks we'll be able to provide the assurance that the plans we'll have in place will provide them with the comfort that they'll have a great experience and for those that want to bring family members that they can," Hockley said.
"Ultimately it will be their decision as to who they'll bring but as we said we're working extremely constructively with the ECB. We've all got a huge amount of experience now in what this takes and the plans and the intricacy of the plans. We're very much working in partnership with the ECB and giving them full knowledge of what they can expect when they arrive in Australia."
Brisbane will host the first of five Tests, beginning December 8, followed by Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth respectively.