International Cricket Update: While the players are "desperate" to participate in the Ashes, England all-rounder Chris Woakes believes that the series must be played in "the greatest circumstances possible" so that the players may enjoy their time outside of cricket.
Despite some players' worries over COVID-19 regulations for the tour, the England squad is "desperate" to fly to Australia for their five-test Ashes 2021-22 series later this year, according to all-rounder Chris Woakes.
After the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed the tour subject to crucial conditions being satisfied before they leave, Woakes was included in England's 17-member squad for the series that begins on December 8 in Brisbane.
Cricket Australia, the ECB, and Australian officials have been in talks for months over touring circumstances in a country where international arrivals are required to stay in quarantine hotels for 14 days regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status.
"There's no player that does not want to be part of the Ashes," Woakes told the BBC.
"Behind the scenes, there are still things being ironed out between all sorts of levels. I think the players are relatively relaxed and guys are desperate to go.
"But we want to be under the best sort of conditions possible so we can still live our lives outside of cricket."
Joe Root, England's captain, has already expressed reservations about the tour owing to "bubble fatigue," while Jos Buttler has stated that he may boycott the series.
"Until you have been in that situation and done it over and over again, the novelty wears off," Woakes said. "Some people get it, some people don't, and that is fine -- everyone is entitled to their view.
"But until you have been in it and experienced it over again, it is hard to have a say on it."
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