English Captain Joe Root and allrounder Ben Stokes are reported to have arrived in Australia. They both landed in Brisbane ahead of the Ashes series, which will begin from December the 8th. According to reports from Reuters, they will be completing their mandatory quarantine period of 14 days in the Gold Coast.
The rest of the players of the squad are currently present in Dubai, partaking in the ongoing T20 World Cup, and will join their test captain as soon as their campaign comes to an end. Currently, England has qualified for the semi-finals with one game to go in the super12 stage. Judging by their performance thus far, they are the hot favorites to win the tournament.
There were some disputes regarding the quarantine rules that were previously proposed to the players by the Australian government. Later it was decided that the English players would be exempted from some rules which previously permitted them to train under very strict circumstances.
Once the entire squad has assembled in Australia, the English team will start off their tour by playing a 3-day and a 4-day match against the England Lions domestic team. The lions have also arrived in Australia ahead of the warmup game, which is set to begin on 23rd. The four-day match will start on November the 30th and end on December the 3rd.
Australia will be hosting England for the first match of the series in GABA. Their fortress was breached last year by a relatively younger Indian side; hence the wounds will be very much fresh for the Aussies. The English Captain thinks that the Indian victory from last year will inspire the English team to repeat the feat.
Currently, Australia holds the Ashes Urn after ending the previous series 2-2 on British soil.
