Allan Border, the ex-Australian captain, has expressed his reservations regarding the national side‘s decision to not participate in any warm-up matches ahead of the highly anticipated World Test Championship (WTC) final against India and the upcoming Ashes series against England. In his view, the absence of warm-up matches may hinder Australia’s preparation and acclimatization to the conditions they will encounter in these crucial encounters.
To gear up for the six upcoming Tests, the Australian team has opted to engage in an intensive training camp held in Beckenham. This rigorous camp will include various activities aimed at enhancing their performance, such as focused center-wicket practice and dedicated net sessions.
“I don’t care how hard you work in the nets, nothing replaces game time. 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. 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,” Allan Border told Fox Cricket.
The WTC final will take place at The Oval in London from June 7-11, followed by the much-anticipated Ashes series between Australia and England, consisting of five Test matches, starting from June 16 and concluding on July 31.