Joe Root and Ben Stokes at centre of burnout fear for the Ashes as England face their toughest five-month schedule ever
JOE ROOT and Ben Stokes will need to be saved from burnout next winter as England embark on their toughest tour of all time.
England’s incredible schedule embraces The Ashes, a bunch of white-ball cricket plus a Test series in New Zealand — and they will be away for more than five months.
Joe Root and Ben Stokes have lead roles in building England up for the futureAction Images via Reuters
There has been much talk about England’s itinerary for 2017-18.
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But SunSport can reveal they face five Ashes Tests, five one-dayers, a T20 tournament with Australia and New Zealand, five one-dayers in New Zealand and finally two Tests against the Kiwis.
England will leave home around October 30 and are not expected back until late March or even early April — their most extended tour since the days they travelled Down Under by boat.
And it follows their longest summer in 2017 when the international season runs from May 5 to September 29.
It means head coach Trevor Bayliss and team supremo Andrew Strauss must rest top players before their bodies and minds break down.
Joe Root, Stuart Broad, Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes celebrate the dismissal of Bangladesh star Taijul IslamAP:Associated Press
Top of the watch list will be star batsman Root and all-rounders Stokes and Moeen Ali, who play all three formats. The players and management expected a gap between the visits to Australia and New Zealand.
But even that window has been filled by the T20 event.
On their current tour, England are angry at having seven back-to-back Tests in Bangladesh and India with no warm-up matches.
Ben Stokes hits out as he confirms his status as by far the no 1 England all-rounderAP:Associated PressJoe Root has emerged as arguably the best young Test batsman in the worldGetty Images
Key men Ben Stokes and Joe Root celebrate but need to make amends for the disappointing drawn series in BangladeshGetty Images
Next winter, they will play two warm-up matches Down Under, in Cairns and Adelaide.
Bangladesh spinner Mehedi Hasan, 19, is having a home built for him on the orders of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
It is reward for his match-winning, 12-wicket haul in their first ever Test win over England in Dhaka last week.
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