England players able to withdraw from tours if bio-secure bubbles take toll on mental health

Over the course of a unique summer, England squads spent much of their time in secure environments set up at Emirates Old Trafford and the Ageas Bowl as they faced West Indies, Ireland, Pakistan and Australia in separate series

England players will be able to opt out of tours if they believe that living in the confines of bio-secure bubbles is affecting their mental health, Eoin Morgan has said.

Over the course of a unique summer, England squads spent much of their time in secure environments set up at Emirates Old Trafford and the Ageas Bowl as they faced West Indies, Ireland, Pakistan and Australia in separate series.

Some of those involved then travelled almost immediately to the United Arab Emirates to join new bubbles as part of the Indian Premier League.

And while these are likely to be in place for the foreseeable future, Morgan admitted during an online event organised by Chance to Shine that players pulling out is “just going to be the reality of things”.

“We've spoken about this as a team and we've accepted that guys will come in and out of the bubble as they feel it is affecting their mental health,” he said. “I do think we will see people pull out of tours.”

He added that it was important for that message to be made clear, so players felt comfortable in making such a decision. England could face trips to South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka over the winter, all of which would involve coping with bubble life.

Players have spoken openly about the challenges associated, chiefly the mental fatigue that comes with living on-site at the ground through a whole series.

“I don't think people should look down on it and they shouldn't feel like people aren't doing their job or not committing to their country,” Morgan added.

“That's a reactive way of dealing with things and we want to be at the forefront of making it acceptable for people to say: ‘I need to spend time with my family now and I'm taking this tour off’ just because of the extraordinary circumstances.”

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