England stars 'to make decision on Ashes involvement' by the end of September

The ECB have reportedly asked their players to make a decision over whether they want to be involved in this winter's Ashes tour by the end of September.

The series remains in doubt, with England 's players concerned about Australia 's strict coronavirus protocol.

There are also a number of players in contention for the tour who have been named in England T20 World Cup squad and, with the Ashes coming straight after the tournament, those players could end up spending around four months away from their families.

Discussions remain ongoing between the ECB and Cricket Australia over the specific details of the tour, with two cities that are due to host Ashes Tests recently going into localised lockdowns.

England are due to tour Australia for the Ashes this winter, but the series remains in doubt with players concerned about the country's strict coronavirus rules (Gareth Copley - ECB/ECB via Getty Images)

The strict lockdowns in Melbourne and Sydney have also prompted Cricket Australia to move the first two weeks of the Women's Big Bash League to Tasmania, with four of the eight teams based in Melbourne and Sydney.

That news will do little to reassure the England players, who recently spoke to ECB chief Tom Harrison about the upcoming tour.

According to ESPNcricinfo, the meeting did little to ease many of their concerns, with the ECB reluctant to even consider a postponement.

The report states that Cricket Australia are set to provide the ECB with more details about what the tour will look like by September 26 and the ECB want the players to confirm their availability by the end of the month.

England's star bowler James Anderson has already stated that he is planning to go to Australia, even though his family will not be joining.

"There are obvious doubts over the Ashes tour and a lot of uncertainty about families travelling and quarantine rules," he revealed in his column for the Daily Telegraph. "My family have already said they are not going to Australia.

England bowler James Anderson has revealed that current quarantine plans for the Ashes means his family will not join him in Australia (LINDSEY PARNABY/AFP via Getty Images)

"My kids are in school, the youngest has exams and there is no way they can do two weeks quarantine because by the time they come out I will be playing a Test match and might only see them for a few days before they have to go back for the start of term."

"I have got my head around that but I only play one format so it is easier for me. The India tour earlier this year was a couple of months and the Australia trip will be similar.

"It is fine, I can manage that. The bigger issue is for guys playing every format. They need some clarity."