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England players and support staff could boycott the Ashes

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The prospect of England fielding a significantly under-strength squad in the Ashes would appear to have grown following talks between the team and officials at the ECB.

There are some reports that some members of the playing squad and some members of the team management were underwhelmed by the ECB's refusal to even countenance a partial or even complete postponement of the tour. As a result, they are considering their options. One of those options is understood to be the entire team - including coaching and support staff - taking a collective decision to boycott the tour.

While the players appear, in general, fairly sanguine about the prospect of a two-week quarantine for themselves, they are reluctant to put their families through it. And with some players away for the best part of four months (the IPL being followed by the T20 World Cup and the Ashes), they are understandably reluctant not to see their families for the entire period.

The nature of the quarantine is also understood to have disappointed the players. Although there has been talk of allowing them the use of a resort hotel on the Gold Coast, it is now understood they are likely to be permitted only two or three hours out of their hotel rooms each day for training. There is also a possibility the squad will be obliged to remain in some sort of 'bubble' throughout the tour to avoid difficulties in moving between states. Families, meanwhile, could still be required to undergo a 'hard' quarantine involving 14 days in a hotel room.

Given the current quarantine requirements in Australia, the team had asked the ECB to at least raise the possibility of a postponement in the series with their counterparts at CA. One proposed option is believed to have been a suggestion that the tour was split into two, with two or three Tests played across the Christmas period in 2021-22, and two or three more played in a similar period next year. Another proposed option was to move the whole series back 12 months in the hope that families and supporters from the UK would be able to attend.

It is understood, however, that the ECB were reluctant to even consider such options. While they did reiterate the offer that players - and support staff - could opt out without consequences, they do appear insistent that the tour should proceed this year. This reaction is understood to have disappointed some players who feel their concerns are not being appreciated by the ECB.

As a result, it remains possible that the entire team - including management, coaches and support staff - could make a collective decision not to tour in order to highlight their discomfort with the situation. It remains more likely, however, that several players - especially those who are not all-format players - will ultimately choose to go. Either way, it appears inevitable that England will be forced to field a substantially under-strength squad. That could even include them naming a new captain for the series, with a senior player such as Stuart Broad a possible option.

Hard Quarantine in hotel room for 14 days have led to boycott of the Ashes and main players won't be available!

The ECB have asked for confirmation of the players' decision whether to tour by the end of September. The players, meanwhile, are still awaiting details of what the tour - including quarantine - will look like for them and their families. Until those questions are answered, they are struggling to provide informed decisions. CA is understood to have undertaken to provide more details by September 26.

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My vision is to reset Pakistan’s cricket compass, states PCB chairman Ramiz Raja

Ramiz Raja, the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) newly appointed chairman, singled out resetting of the direction of Pakistan’s cricketing structure as his primary aim. He stressed on the fact that the revamping process needs to start from the grassroot levels, to achieve the best results. Ramiz Raja was officially elected unopposed as the PCB chairman on Monday, September 13. During an hour-long interaction with the media at the Bob Woolmer indoor complex at the High Performance centre in Lahore, Ramiz revealed his blueprint as he looks forward to enhancing the country’s cricket structure.

On his first day in office, newly elected PCB chairman Ramiz Raja pledged to "reset the direction" of Pakistan cricket, hinting at an overhaul of the mindset of Pakistan cricket across the board.

He was elected unopposed as chairman earlier today, becoming the fourth former Test cricketer to hold the position. After meeting with officials at the PCB, Ramiz made his first media appearance as chairman, an hour-long press conference at the Bob Woolmer indoor complex at the High Performance centre in Lahore. He met Moin Khan and Aaqib Javed, thanking them for attending, before launching into an impassioned speech about his desire to see Pakistan cricket back at the top table.

He made frequent references to Pakistan's now legendary 1992 World Cup campaign, one in which both he and Imran Khan, the man who appointed him, played a part. Ever since his nomination, he has been actively working alongside the board, deeply involved in every aspect of the PCB's affairs, and he touched upon several themes during his media address.

"Cricket is my constituency, it's my subject," said Ramiz. "My vision is clear cut, I had been thinking that whenever I get an opportunity I will reset it. The compass needs to be reset. There are long-term goals and a few short-term goals, but whatever those are, one thing is pretty simple; the cricket board's performance is related to the team's performance.

“It goes all the way down to age-group cricket. The infrastructure below, and the work at grassroots level is a reflection on the team performance. There is a need to work on several tiers, and on every tier the direction needs to be reset.”

The 1992 World Cup winner further emphasized that the structure needed to be revamped not just in terms of the players, but also the coaching process, as he stressed on the importance of identifying and grooming young talents. "When I say resetting the direction, it means coaching has to be revisited too,” Ramiz said. “Our coaching isn't effectively targeted. If today I need three wrist-spinners and four openers, we won't have such options available right now.

“We have a very big population and yet you are not seeing outstanding talent emerge, which means we are making mistakes that we have to mend. It's really important to work on the coaching aspect and age-group cricket. Our club and school cricket is nonexistent so we need massive improvements there."

Ramiz conceded that he’s yet to have a proper interaction with the national team skipper Babar Azam, as he reflected on the importance of leadership, and expects the 26-year-old to be as influential as Imran Khan, who is hailed as one of game’s finest captains.

"It's too early for me to assess him. It's important for me to know him better," he said. "It's similarly important for me to understand the role. You (as captain) tend to make many demands, some good but others which you need to make a persuasive case for.

“I did a couple of sessions with him and told him that if you don't have 400 autograph hunters outside the academy then the whole objective to play cricket has failed. I want a leadership like the one I played under in my era. My expectations for Babar are the same as I had with Imran Khan."