"We are aware we have a huge amount of cricket coming up and we can't keep the same people in those bubbles the whole time"
Tuesday 27 October 2020 14:44, UK
England managing director of cricket Ashley Giles says the ECB will closely monitor players' wellbeing as they continue to stay in bio-secure bubbles amid the coronavirus pandemic.
England stayed in such environments in Manchester and Southampton in order to play West Indies, Ireland, Pakistan and Australia at home this summer and are set to do so again this winter, beginning with six white-ball games in South Africa across late November and early December.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, Giles said: "These are extreme circumstances for everyone - it is not normal spending a long period of time in a bio-secure environment.
"We are working on strategies to get people in and out of bubbles easier, whether that be players or management and that will need the cooperation of opposition teams.
"We are very aware we have a huge amount of cricket coming up and we can't keep the same people in those bubbles the whole time.
"It is high up on the agenda, as is mental health and wellbeing. If we get wellbeing right over the next 12 months, it could be a performance difference to our opposition."
We are incredibly proud to have the representation we do. It didn’t seem that long ago we didn’t have any guys playing in the IPL. It is a fantastic spectacle and we have some of the best one-day players in the world now.
England played 18 men's internationals at home last summer, while there were also five England Women internationals against West Indies Women in Derby, as well as domestic action in the Bob Willis Trophy, Vitality Blast and Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy amid the backdrop of coronavirus.
Giles said: "It has been a really challenging year for everyone.
"It looked at one point like we wouldn't play any international or domestic cricket so to play the amount of matches we have we are incredibly proud.
"That is largely down to a lot of hard work and teamwork at the ECB and through the counties and, of course, the opposition teams as well."
Giles says another ECB priority is to improve diversity at the organisation and throughout English cricket, adding: "It is very much on the agenda going forwards.
"We need to ensure that cricket is very much a game for everyone, whether that be playing, coaching, administration. Right now, that probably isn't the case so we have some work to do."
