Stuart Broad: "If you ask me if I would be happy to get on a plane to Australia, I would say yes. In my mind, it is 100 per cent clear that an England team of some description will embark on the tour. But if another player told me they couldn't commit, I would totally accept it."
Sunday 19 September 2021 09:44, UK
England bowler Stuart Broad is committed to going on the Ashes tour of Australia this winter amid concerns over the possible cancellation of next month's scheduled trip to Pakistan.
The England and Wales Cricket Board is set to make a decision about whether to press ahead with an expedition to Pakistan for back-to-back Twenty20 double-headers for both the men's and women's sides on October 13 and 14 in Rawalpindi, with Heather Knight's team staying on for three one-day internationals later in the month.
England's first planned international visit to Pakistan since 2005 has been plunged into doubt after New Zealand abruptly abandoned their tour of the country because of a "security alert" from their government.
Beyond that and a T20 World Cup campaign for Eoin Morgan's side is the prestigious Ashes series, which the ECB is "very confident" will go ahead as planned despite Australia's tight border controls, as well as the prospect of lengthy coronavirus-related quarantines and restrictive bubble environments.
Fast bowler Broad, 35, is "working tirelessly" to be included in the travelling party for a Test series which starts in December, but would accept any team-mate's decision if they were unable to commit.
He wrote in his Mail on Sunday column: "It is now just a couple of weeks away from a squad being selected but players can't sign up to something unless they know what they are signing up for.
"If you ask me if I would be happy to get on a plane to Australia in November, I would say yes. I am working tirelessly to get there. I don't feel there will be a postponement.
"In my mind, it is 100 per cent clear that an England team of some description will embark on the tour. But if another player called me and told me they couldn't commit, I would totally accept it.
"Everyone has to make their own decision and Ashley Giles, England's director of cricket, has made it clear a player's chances of selection in the future will not be harmed.
"My message to our bosses at the ECB is simple: Give us the best possible chance to be mentally strong come January with the environment that is created.
"Let's try to make it as comfortable as possible for us because if you go somewhere like Australia and have to bunker down, you won't enjoy being in one of the greatest places on earth and aren't going to win at cricket either."
