'Players done with bubble' - Kevin Pietersen calls out Australia over 'ridiculous quarantine rules' before Ashes 2021-22

Kevin Pietersen is hugely upset by the “ridiculous” quarantine rules in place in Australia, where the England team is scheduled to travel in December this year for the Ashes. Pietersen, the former England captain, reckoned that the players are “done with bubble” and with quarantine measures as stringent as those in Australia, he would not have travelled for the series this winter.

“There is NO WAY I would go to The Ashes this winter. ZERO chance! Unless the ridiculous quarantine rules were squashed and my family could travel with zero restrictions. Players are now done with bubbles! DONE!!!!!!!” a tweet on his official account read.

Pietersen’s remark comes in the backdrop of England players spending considerable time away from family in bio-secure bubbles over the last two years, which includes lengthy completed assignments both home and abroad. Multi-format players, therefore, face the challenge of several months away from home towards the end of the year, with the Ashes following the T20 World Cup 2021, scheduled in October-November in the UAE and Oman.

A sense of respite, however, does come in given England’s Bangladesh and Pakistan tours have both been postponed/cancelled, decongesting their ultra-packed end 2021 quarter schedule, although, given the mental, emotional and physical challenges that a rivalry of Ashes standard can bring upon the players is undeniable.

It won’t be a surprise that some England players might withdraw from the trip, not least because the Australian protocols make players families accompanying them on the tour extremely difficult. The situation has given birth to the prospect of England sending a toned-down squad, which will undoubtedly dilute the contest’s allure.

As things stand, the England squad is expected to fly to Australia in the latter half of November before the Ashes starts in Brisbane’s Gabba on December 8. The series will run until mid-January, with the last encounter in Perth.

It is understood that rigorous negotiations between the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA) to find a midway on relaxed quarantine protocols are underway, with CA pushing the Australian government on ECB’s behalf to allow families of the player to accompany them. Although, no official confirmation has been released as yet.

England’s Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan, too, has been critical of Australia’s policy as he went on to recommend the calling off of the Ashes. “Read reports today that England cricketers may not be able to have family members with them down under this winter. Quite simply if they can’t they should call the Ashes off .. 4 months away from your family is totally unacceptable,” his tweet from June 23 read.

Given that each of England’s players would be double vaccinated by the time of their arrival in Australia, a request regarding reducing the mandatory 14-day quarantine – the current federal government norm in Australia – has also been raised by the ECB. What results the negotiations would produce remains anybody’s guess for now.