"It just doesn’t feel right not to play any cricket leading into an Ashes series" - Allan Border on Australia's decision to not play warm-up matches
Former Australia captain Allan Border has questioned the team's decision to not partake in any warm-up matches on English shores ahead of the upcoming 2023 Ashes.
The Pat Cummins-led side are scheduled to play the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India at The Oval from June 7 onwards. The first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham, is scheduled for June 16. The majority of Australian players in the red-ball squad are currently involved in the ongoing 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL).
A select few like Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne are preparing for their lengthy red-ball assignment in England with a stint in the County Championship.
Baffled with Australia's decision to play The Ashes without any warm-up matches, Border told Fox Cricket:
“I don’t care how hard you work in the nets, nothing replaces game time. I’m really surprised we’re just allowing the Ashes tour to be so condensed with no cricket between the games, but that’s the way it is."
He continued:
“I get it, we’ve got IPLs and T20s, I understand. The game’s moved on. But I think there’s an opportunity there for us to go to England early and play a couple of games … just to polish things off a bit."
“It just doesn’t feel right not to play any cricket leading into an Ashes series. I just think that’s fraught with danger … there’s something gnawing at me saying it’s the wrong decision.”
Former Australian cricketer and head coach Darren Lehmann had also expressed similar concerns over Australia not playing any warm-up games in the build-up to the Ashes series.
"We were away for four months. They just don’t do that these days" - Allan Border
Australia are the current holders of the urn following a 4-0 success at home in the 2021-22 series. The Aussies, however, last won a red-ball series on English soil in 2001.
Recalling how in his days multiple tour games were played before the series with no casualties being reported, Allan Border said:
“We played two three-day games between the Test matches, and we played the day after the Test match,“It was a pretty packed itinerary — but no one died, no one got injured. Everyone enjoyed themselves."
Border continued:
“It was fantastic. You could rest guys, you could give guys opportunities to get themselves back into form … it really worked well. We were away for four months. They just don’t do that these days.”
Australia have already announced their squad for the WTC final as well as The Ashes.
England, on the other hand, will play a one-off Test against Ireland from June 1 onwards to kickstart the summer.