England to make final call on Ashes squad this week

England's cricket board will decide within days if the Ashes tour of Australia will go ahead.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has held a series of meetings with players about the five-Test tour of Australia slated to start in Brisbane on December 8.

Australia's stringent coronavirus travel restrictions have cast doubt on the marquee series, with English players concerned over quarantine, bubble environments and access for families.

The ECB has detailed to its players proposals from Cricket Australia (CA) for the tour and is waiting to hear how many of their first-choice side is prepared to travel.

Reports suggest CA's proposal includes England's squad arriving in Queensland and performing a 14-day quarantine period, during which they will be allowed to train.

This would mirror conditions for the India's men's team last summer, and would be more lenient than those imposed on female players from India – and NSW and Victoria-based Australians – for this season's CommBank Series.

"Later this week the ECB board will meet to decide whether the conditions in place are sufficient for the tour to go ahead and enable the selection of a squad befitting a series of this significance," the ECB said in a statement on Monday night, Australian time.

Several England players are believed to have expressed reservations about the quarantine period, which is mandated by the Australian government.

"Over the weekend we have been talking to England men's players and management to provide them with the latest information about the proposed arrangements," the ECB statement said.

"We remain in regular and positive dialogue with Cricket Australia over these arrangements as the picture is constantly evolving.

"With health and wellbeing at the forefront, our focus is to ensure the tour can go ahead with conditions for players and management to perform at their best.

"We will continue talking to our players this week to share the latest information and seek feedback."

A CA statement said the organisation was "buoyed by rising vaccination rates and an evolving approach to the pandemic in Australia" as it plans for the five-Test Vodafone Ashes.

“We have had regular and positive discussions with the ECB over the past six months on providing conditions which will allow players from both teams to perform at their best during the Ashes summer," the CA statement read.

“The health and wellbeing of both squads while ensuring the tour proceeds in a safe manner is a priority and we especially thank our government partners for all their support in this regard. We are also buoyed by rising vaccination rates and an evolving approach to the pandemic in Australia.

“The anticipated conditions for the tour, including quarantine arrangements have now been communicated to the ECB and directly to the England players and staff.”

The updates come after former England captain Nasser Hussain used his media column to highlight England had played 18 Test matches since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, while Australia have played just four, at home last summer against India.

"I'm quite proud of the way in which England's Test team have kept the show on the road in difficult circumstances, moving in and out of bubbles and spending time away from their families," Hussain wrote in his Daily Mail column.

"It's draining. Mental health has suffered … It's a delicate balancing act for (England captain Joe) Root and Ashley Giles, the director of cricket.

"They need to be considerate about the players' mental health as they prepare to enter yet another bubble on one of the toughest tours of all.

"But they also know their only chance of winning in Australia is if everyone is on board."

Australia captain Tim Paine said he was itching to get back in his Baggy Green, and said he would be happy to quarantine if it meant getting the series played.

"I haven't had to do as much as some other guys and I realise the bio bubbles are wearing on players but it is part of the world we live in," Paine told 7Cricket.

"It's part of our job at the moment and I feel we've got a bit of a responsibility to keep the game moving if we can.

"There's a few hurdles to get over with the government and the conditions that the English guys want and we hope that's worked out and they get good conditions (and) they can have an enjoyable summer off the field, but we want to make it has hard as we can for them on the field."

Vodafone Men's Ashes v England

First Test: December 8-12, The Gabba

Second Test: December 16-20, Adelaide Oval

Third Test: December 26-30, MCG

Fourth Test: January 5-9, SCG

Fifth Test: January 14-18, Perth Stadium