England cricketer Chris Woakes has revealed his hopes that the Ashes is not adversely affected by the string of scandals that have acted as a rather distasteful prelude to this year’s tournament.
Azeem Rafiq’s detailed allegations of the institutionalised racism he witnessed during his time at Yorkshire County Cricket Club sparked a sport-wide conversation about discrimination in the game.
With there being overlap into the England cricket team, not to mention the equally unpleasant drama surrounding Aussie wicketkeeper Tim Paine, the approach towards December’s Ashes tests has been rather unique.
It’s difficult to ignore the aforementioned issues, such is the significance, but no cricket fan wants the microscope to be aimed in a manner that’ll be to the detriment of the Ashes action.
Nor does Chris Woakes, who has suggested that off-the-field matters ought to be left where they emerged, allowing the players to compete in the Ashes without the baggage of recent scandals.
Woakes is quoted by the Telegraph saying, “I think what’s happened in both camps, a lot of the issues are personal and cricket is played best when that sort of stuff is left to the side and we let the skills do the talking.”
While Woakes’ intention is only to have the game played without disruption, you feel as though he is fighting a losing battle by attempting to temporarily brush all the controversy under the carpet.
There is unlikely to be a media ceasefire with the Ashes taking place so soon after the spotlight was shone on rife issues within the sport. There is also every possibility that opposing players will use them as ammunition in an attempt to gain an extra yard.
It is perhaps time to accept that this year’s Ashes will have a different flavour to the ones we have watched and enjoyed in the past.
