As the ICC World Test Championship Final and the highly anticipated Ashes 2023 draw near, former Australia captain and renowned commentator Allan Border has voiced his surprise and concern over the Australian team’s decision to forgo any warm-up games in England. Border believes that this choice is “fraught with danger” and could impact their performance.
Australia is set to face India in the ICC World Test Championship Final in London from June 7th to 11th. Following this high-stakes encounter, the Australian team, led by Pat Cummins, will take on England in the Ashes 2023 series. However, contrary to traditional practice, they have opted not to play any warm-up matches on English soil prior to these crucial Test campaigns.
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Speaking to Fox Cricket, the legendary Australian batsman Allan Border expressed his reservations about this decision, emphasizing the importance of game time and the potential risks involved.
Border stated, “I don’t care how hard you work in the nets, nothing replaces game time. It just doesn’t feel right not to play any cricket leading into an Ashes series. I just think that’s fraught with danger… there’s something gnawing at me saying it’s the wrong decision.”
Having led Australia to victory in the 1987 ODI World Cup, Border also emphasized that warm-up matches would provide valuable opportunities for the Australian team to fine-tune their skills ahead of the Ashes 2023.
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“I’m really surprised we’re just allowing the Ashes tour to be so condensed with no cricket between the games, but that’s the way it is. I get it, we’ve got IPLs and T20s, I understand. The game’s moved on. But I think there’s an opportunity there for us to go to England early and play a couple of games… just to polish things off a bit,” Border further remarked.
It is worth noting that Australia had previously declined to play any warm-up games in India before the IND vs AUS Test series in March 2023, a decision that ultimately resulted in a 2-1 series loss. The ICC World Test Championship Final is scheduled to commence on June 7th at The Oval Stadium in London, followed by the Ashes 2023 starting on June 16th with the first Test between England and Australia.