Australia
The World Test Championship final between India and Australia will be played from June 7. Before this match, the team of both countries has been announced. However, before this big match, the Australian team decided that they would not play any practice matches. Now, the former Australia veteran has given a big statement on the matter.
Australia may suffer a great loss
Former captain Allan Border questioned Australia’s decision to skip the WTC final and warm-up matches against India ahead of the Ashes series, saying the move is “fraught with danger”. The WTC final is scheduled to take place at The Oval in London from June 7-11, after which Australia will take on arch-rivals England in a five-game Ashes series from June 16-July 31. The Australian team will prepare for the six Tests at Beckenham by taking part in a rigorous training camp that includes practice sessions and netting at the main wicket. “I don’t care how hard you work on the net, nothing can replace competitive play,” Border said. He said it doesn’t seem right to me not to play any kind of cricket before the Ashes series. I think it is fraught with danger. I feel that it is a wrong decision.
The Indian team will also not play a practice match
The Indian team will also not be playing any warm-up matches as the England County Championship is underway. Furthermore, the WTC is an ICC event and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is not required to organize warm-up matches for visiting teams. However, this will be the first time in Ashes history that the Australian men’s team will not face a local county team before or during the series. Even before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India earlier this year, Australia opted to train rather than play a warm-up match and lost the series 1-2.
The ECB compressed the Ashes into six weeks to ensure England Test players are available for ‘The Hundred’ tournament from early August. Australian players like Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Marcus Harris are playing in the county championship. Australian players present in India will leave for England after playing in the IPL. Other members of the Australian Test squad recently completed a three-day training camp in Brisbane and will leave for England this week.