The Ashes 2023 season, which is scheduled to be played in England next year, will not feature a Test match starting in August. It is going to be the first time that The Ashes won’t involve a Test match commencing in August. The decision has been made keeping ‘The Hundred’ tournament in mind.
As per reports, the decision will allow more players to participate in the newly-introduced tournament. Due to a hectic schedule, many players had to opted out of the tournament. Like this year Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow have decided to stay away from the tournament to get proper rest and prepare for their next assignment against South Africa.
Even the likes of Joe Root, Ollie Pope, Zack Crawley and Matthew Potts are only available for the first week as they are involved in the Test team. This largely affects the performance and popularity of the tournament. Hence, it has been decided that players will be given enough room to make them play the league.
Informing about the same, the former England cricket Kevin Pietersen on Twitter posted, “Next summer’s home Ashes will be the first in 139 years to not feature a Test starting in August, under plans to give the Hundred better access to England players.”
The report also states that the decision will benefit both the parties involves, ECB and Cricket Australia. As they will be able to concentrate on white-ball cricket to prepare themselves for the upcoming World Cup in October 2023.
It is also expected that The Hundred will get a window out in the Future Tours Programme in future alongside some of the famous leagues like Indian Premier League (IPL) and Big Bash League (BBL). It is no secret that the influence of domestic T20 leagues are growing as they offer lucrative contracts.
Recently, New Zealand pacer Trent Boult got released from the central contract after he had put in several requests. The left-handed pacer wants to spend more time with the family and notably play more leagues across the globe.
