England hope to convince Australia to undertake limited-overs tour in September

With the inaugural Hundred cancelled and players suffering as the game hits dire financial times, it’s no wonder England are poised to send an SOS to Australia’s cricketers to rescue them.

FILE - In this March 7, 2020, file photo, Australia's batsman Marnus Labuschagne celebrates his century during the 3rd and final One Day International cricket match between South Africa and Australia at Senwes Park, Potchefstroom, South Africa. Star batsman Labuschagne and two other test players have been added on Thursday, April 30, 2020 by Cricket Australia to its list of 20 contracted players for the 2020-21 season. The value of each contract is still uncertain because of the coronavirus pandemic which has forced Cricket Australia to furlough the bulk of its staff. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

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Aussie players drafted for The Hundred competition have had their contracts terminated along with the rest due to the cancellation of this year’s inaugural tournament.

The England and Wales Cricket Board issued letters to all players on Tuesday morning (EST) informing them of the decision, after it was announced last week the tournament had been postponed until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The eight men’s teams selected their squads in a draft in October last year. Aaron Finch, Mitchell Starc, Steve Smith, David Warner, D’Arcy Short along with Glenn Maxwell were all snapped up on $236,000 contracts for the new 100-ball cricket tournament to be played in England and Wales. Chris Lynn, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Dan Christian and Adam Zampa were picked in later rounds.

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Mitchell Starc, David Warner and Aaron Finch all had their Hundred contracts terminated.

The new 100-ball competition, featuring eight city-based franchises rather than the traditional 18 counties, was due to begin on July 17.

According to the Independent, contracted players had already received a percentage of their wages for the tournament but were due to receive the bulk of the money - around 80 per cent - at the conclusion of the tournament. The newspaper said the outstanding sums totalled around $1.9 million including coaches’ salaries.

It’s no wonder then that the Poms are poised to send an SOS to Australia’s cricketers to rescue them.

Britain is shadowing only the United States and Italy as the most brutally hit country with more than 27,000 deaths, but News Corp Australia understands the England Cricket Board are desperately trying to hatch a plan which could convince Australia it’s safe enough to jump on a plane and “Save Our Summer”.

England’s schedule has been thrown into disarray by the pandemic, but they are in talks with West Indies to tour in July and are hopeful of hosting Australia in September.

The Aussies haven’t faced the Poms since last ydar’s World Cup semifinal.

Cricket Australia said it was too early to comment on the likelihood of a white-ball tour going ahead in September, but medical chiefs would have to be convinced that player safety could be guaranteed.

One factor in England’s favour is that cricket’s big three are generally in the business of scratching each other’s backs when possible, and Australia are just as anxious about ensuring India tour in December to save it from its own full-blown crisis.

At this stage, CA has ruled nothing out except the cancelled tour of Bangladesh in June, but a potential decision about whether to consider leaving the safety of Australian shores for a coronavirus hotspot looms as a agonising dilemma.

“At this point in time it looks positive and hopefully some of the other tours are still on as it stands now,” said Marnus Labuschagne on Monday.

“It’s tough to see the (ECB) organisation over there going through this tough time. For coaches and players it’s been really hard.

Marnus Labuschagne says he is ‘itching to play cricket again’.

“Hope for the best for them and hopefully there’s some cricket played in England this year.

“I’m itching to play cricket so if they come up with a match anywhere, inter-squad or anything it’d be nice to play.

“If we don’t get any lead-up to that one-day series (in England) in September we know we have to be adaptable and be ready to play. We have to be ready to come out of this and be ready to play as much cricket as we can.”

Respected doctor John Orchard has prepared a “return to play” document for cricket. There is optimism the progress made by the NRL means cricket stars will be able to return to training in early June, possibly practising at their state hubs in groups of 10 or less.

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Australia based their last tour in Southampton, England. Photo: Harry Trump/Getty Image

Sources in England say it’s too early to speculate on how England might facilitate Australia touring, but charter flights and lockdown quarantine facilities are likely to be on the agenda.

Australia prepared for last year’s Ashes at Southampton, where there is a hotel attached to the cricket ground – and there are multiple venues in the UK that are tailor-made for quarantining a sports team.

At this stage it would seem a stretch for Australia to be touring England, but the situation is ever-changing and the Warriors arrival in Tamworth has shown Governments are willing to consider travelling exemptions.

Originally published as England hope to convince Australia to undertake limited-overs tour in September