Allan Border slams Australian team’s decision to not play warm-up games ahead of Ashes, WTC final

Border warned that the decision to not play practice matches in England was risky and could come back to haunt Pat Cummins’ side. He also took a sly dig at players prioritising IPL and T20 cricket over the all-important Ashes.

“I don’t care how hard you work in the nets, nothing replaces game time,” Border told ‘Fox Cricket’.

“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.

“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 added.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has jammed the Ashes into a schedule of six-week to ensure England’s Test players are available for The Hundred which is set to begin from August 1.

However, it should be noted that only three Australian players part of the WTC final and Ashes 2023 are featuring in the IPL. With Delhi Capitals (DC) not qualifying for the IPL 2023 playoffs, Warner and Marsh have no further role to play in the league.

The likes of Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Marcus Harris have been playing in the ongoing County Championship 2023.

The rest of Australia’s Test squad just finished a three-day training camp in Brisbane and will travel to England later this week.