Australia has only six teams in its premier first-class competition, meaning opportunities for outsiders are limited
“We’ve had to cancel a lot of individual player preparation plans – which would have involved time in Australia – due to the [Covid-19] pandemic, because effectively, Australia has been closed, and a number of other tours that were planned to enable us to get in better shape for this tour have had to be shelved.”
Australian cricketers are regularly signed as overseas players in county cricket, with Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head and Michael Neser among the Ashes squad members involved in the 2021 County Championship.
“There’s a few good cricketers doing well in the BBL from England, and I think they could have a huge impact on Sheffield Shield cricket as well,” she told News Corp. “Fans and broadcasters want a contest… surely it’s in the interest of Cricket Australia to say, ‘yep, some of your players who are going to be part of the Ashes can come here and play in our Sheffield Shield for a few games.'”
Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98