Following today’s news (Monday 4 October) that the Ashes tour may not go ahead this Christmas;

Conrad Wiacek, Head of Sport Analysis at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“The Ashes cricket tour is a huge revenue generator for both the ECB and Cricket Australia, but, with travel restrictions remaining in place in Australia for the foreseeable future, it is likely that the Ashes will not go ahead this winter.

“The financial cost of a cancelled tour will be considerable, for example, BT Sport will want to be reimbursed the £80m it spent to show the Ashes, should the tour not go ahead, and sponsors and commercial partners will also want their money back. The likes of Castore, having recently signed a ten-year deal worth over £25m to supply England with kit, will no doubt want to discuss possible changes to contracts in light of this news.

“With all travellers not only required to quarantine for two weeks upon entry to Australia, but also having to adhere to restrictions when entering certain states, it will require a mammoth effort just to manage the logistics making it more likely that the tour will not go ahead.”