Australian bowler Mitchell Starc has rubbished Stuart Broad’s claim the 2021/22 Ashes series was “void”, questioning whether England’s quarantine restrictions were as harsh as the rival insinuated.
Due to Covid-19 protocols at the time, the touring English squad had to undergo 14 days of quarantine at a Gold Coast resort ahead of the previous Ashes series, which Australia comprehensively won 4-0.
Australian captain Pat Cummins missed the day-night Test in Adelaide due to biosecurity reasons, while Travis Head didn’t play the SCG New Year’s fixture after testing positive for Covid-19.
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Broad, who played three Tests during the one-sided series, remarkably claimed the 2021/22 Ashes didn’t count because of the quarantine restrictions.
“Nothing was harsher than the last Ashes series,” Broad told The Daily Mail last month.
“But in my mind I don’t class that as a real Ashes. The definition of Ashes cricket is elite sport with lots of passion and players at the top of their game.
“Nothing about that series was high level performance because of the Covid restrictions. The training facilities, the travel, not being able to socialise.
“I’ve written it off as a void series.”
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Starc questioned whether the Covid-19 restrictions were a legitimate excuse for England’s poor performance.
“The funniest thing out of that was they called it quarantine on the Gold Coast. I did seven of them. That was the easiest by a country mile,” Starc said.
“The Poms had the pool, the gym, they were in a resort on the Gold Coast, they trained at Metricon, weren’t confined to their rooms and had their families there.
“Was that really quarantine? They were still allowed to play golf on tour. Is that an excuse for 4-0? Dunno. It was a pretty good series to be a part of.”
Australian vice-captain Steve Smith also bristled at Broad’s comments earlier this month, confessing he thought they were “a little bit odd”.
“We were all there and playing so it was a little bit odd, you know? He‘s a nice guy and loves throwing out some good banter, so it’s all part of it,” Smith said.
“It certainly wasn‘t ideal scenarios. But the whole world was going through it and we were in the middle of a pandemic, so we couldn’t really complain too much.
“We were actually out there being able to do what we love, so I don‘t really have much more to add to it.”
England has revolutionised its approach to Test cricket since the previous Ashes series, winning nine of their 12 matches under Brendon McCullum’s guidance.
The first Ashes Test between England and Australia gets underway at Edgbaston on June 16.