Former captain Allan Border has expressed concerns over Australia’s decision to forego any warm-up matches prior to the World Test Championship final against India and the subsequent Ashes series. Border believes that this move is filled with potential risks.

The World Test Championship final is scheduled to take place at The Oval in London from June 7 to June 11, followed by the highly anticipated five-match Ashes series against arch-rivals England from June 16 to July 31.

Instead of playing warm-up games, the Australian team plans to undergo an intensive training camp in Beckenham, focusing on center-wicket practice and net sessions.

Border, speaking to ‘Fox Cricket,’ emphasized the significance of game time and stated, “I don’t care how hard you work in the nets, nothing replaces game time.” He expressed his concerns about not playing any cricket leading up to the Ashes series, stating that it feels inherently risky. He added, “There’s something gnawing at me saying it’s the wrong decision.”

The Indian team is also not scheduled to play any warm-up matches due to the ongoing English County Championship and the fact that the World Test Championship is an ICC event, which means the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is not obligated to arrange practice matches for visiting teams.

However, this Ashes series will mark the first time in history that the Australian team will not face any local county sides before or during their winter tour of England.

Prior to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India earlier this year, Australia had already chosen simulation training over warm-up games, which ultimately resulted in their defeat in the series, with a score of 1-2.

Border expressed his surprise at the condensed nature of the Ashes tour without any additional cricket fixtures between the games. He acknowledged the evolving nature of the game with the emergence of IPLs and T20s but believed that there was still an opportunity for the team to arrive early in England and play a couple of matches to fine-tune their preparations.

“I’m really surprised we’re just allowing the Ashes tour to be so condensed with no cricket between the games, but that’s the way it is. I get it, we’ve got IPLs and T20s, I understand. The game’s moved on. But I think there’s an opportunity there for us to go to England early and play a couple of games… Just to polish things off a bit,” Border concluded.