Australian prime minister Scott Morrison says ‘no special deals’ for England families for Ashes

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison will make no “special deals” for England players’ families for the Ashes after Boris Johnson requested travel exceptions.

There are concerns around Australia’s strict travel restrictions with some England stars thinking about withdrawing from the contest. The first Test is due to start on 8 December.

The PM spoke about the issue with Mr Morrison at a dinner in Washington during his US visit. Speaking to reporters, the Australian premier said: “I would love to see the Ashes go ahead, as I shared with Boris last night.

“But there’s no special deals there, because what we’re looking to have is vaccinated people being able to travel.

“I don’t see a great deal of difference in skilled workers or students who will be able to come to Australia when you reach those vaccination rates.

“Those who are coming for that purpose when it comes to their profession, which is playing cricket, I don’t see the difference between that and someone who’s coming as a skilled, qualified engineer or someone who’s coming to be ready for study.”

While Mr Morrison was quite clear on his stance, Johnson had a different message after the pair had spoken. He said: “I raised it and he said he was going to do his best for the families. He merely undertook to come back and see if he could find a solution.”

Details on the travel arrangements, including quarantine, will be presented to the England and Wales Cricket Board this week. The players will then make a decision about whether they want to take part, ahead of the squad announcement in October.

The Ashes will take place from 8 December until 18 January with no plans to move those dates though venues could be altered.