Dom Bess insists an England Ashes call-up would be hard to resist despite the prospect of being away from loved ones for four months – with Yorkshire off-spinner back in fold after being axed last winter
- Players could spend four months away from their families due to Ashes tour
- Jos Buttler and Mark Wood have spoken publicly about the daunting prospect
- Australia’s borders are set to remain closed to non-nationals until 2022
Dom Bess says he couldn’t reject an Ashes tour place, regardless of whether families are permitted to travel to Australia this winter.
As Sportsmail exclusively revealed last month, multi-format players are increasingly anxious about being on the road from mid-September to mid-January without seeing their loved ones.
Established stars Jos Buttler and Mark Wood have both spoken publicly about how they and others would find that prospect hard. Both have young children.
Yorkshire off-spinner Dom Bess is back in the England fold after being axed last winter
However, Yorkshire off-spinner Bess said: ‘Obviously, I don’t know what will be happening or what Australia and their regulations are – but I think if your name was on the ticket and you were going to an Ashes series as a 24-year-old, you would never, ever turn that down.
‘I think it would be very tough leaving family and supporters behind but it is an Ashes series away from home, something you dream of – playing against Australia in Australia and looking to win there.’
Bess, back in the England fold after being axed last winter, added: ‘It gives me goosebumps talking about it. Growing up, just watching the 2005 Ashes and then being at school and staying up all night to watch the 2010-11 series when Cookie (Sir Alastair Cook) scored hundred after hundred. That is pinnacle of the career – everyone thinks about it.’
England’s squad for the first of two Tests against India report for duty on Saturday at Loughborough, where Covid protocols for the series will be confirmed.
Bess says it would be dream come true to play in an Ashes series in Australia
It is anticipated that the players will use that meeting with the director of cricket Ashley Giles to express concerns about the possibility of spending Christmas and New Year on the other side of the world, away from their nearest and dearest. Some are believed to be ready to make themselves unavailable for the tour, or parts of it, if that remains the case.
When contacted by Sportsmail on the issue this week, Cricket Australia declined to comment. However, the governing body is set to update the ECB on what has become a political issue in early August.
Australia’s borders are set to remain closed to non-nationals until 2022, meaning the Australian government would need to provide dispensation for England’s players’ partners, parents and children to join them, at a time when thousands of others have been prevented seeing relatives from overseas.
Dom Bess was speaking at the Nottingham leg of the LV= Insurance ‘In With Heart’ Tour, which showcases recipients of #Funds4Runs grants, a £1m joint initiative between the ECB and LV= Insurance to support grassroots cricket recover and rebuild following the pandemic. For more information head to lv.com/gi/cricket
Bess takes part in the Funds4Runs initiative in Nottingham to support grassroots cricket