ECB Chief Harrison Writes To CA, Wants England Players Involved In Australia’s Sheffield Shield

England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) chief executive Tom Harrison has written to Cricket Australia, asking the Australian board to involve young English players in the Sheffield Shield. This suggestion from Harrison comes on the back of England’s poor show in the ongoing Ashes. Australia has already sealed the Ashes after gaining a 3-0 unassailable lead.

“The reality is we need to be spending a lot more time with players in Australian conditions. I’ve had a number of conversations with Cricket Australia and have written formally to Cricket Australia to ask if they would consider allowing us to put players into Sheffield Shield cricket, for example, as one significant change that we can bring to bear,” Harrison said n an interview with the BBC’s Test Match Special, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.

“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,” he added.

Australian players already play in the County Championship as overseas signings. However, this is not the case with England players as they do not get much opportunity to play in Australia’s competition, Sheffield Shield.