Brisbane, November 29: Ashley Giles, the managing director of England men's cricket team has said that the side is hoping that the discovery of the COVID-19 Omicron variant does not affect anything in the upcoming Ashes.

"We're obviously hoping it won't affect anything. There are going to be changes to those border controls in terms of our families being able to travel and we clearly hope that's not going to affect us. But we are in the hands of national and local governments," ESPNcricinfo quoted Giles as saying. Also Read | NZ 4/1 in 4 Overs | (Target 284) | India vs New Zealand Live Score Updates 1st Test 2021 Day 5: Get Full Scorecard Live Commentary of IND vs NZ Cricket Match in Kanpur.

Different states in Australia have introduced new travel restrictions in response to the latest COVID-19 variant. "We always knew things could change. I guess we hoped things would change positively as we went through the series but as we've been aware over the last two years with variants, things can also change negatively," said Giles. Also Read | India vs New Zealand 1st Test Day 5 Live Streaming Online: Get Free Live Telecast of IND vs NZ Test Series on TV With Time in IST.

"Can we prepare for everything? It's not really possible actually because of the big moving parts even around quarantine times and rules around different states. We will do everything we can to make sure the families are accommodated and of course that the players are happy," he added. The Ashes is slated to begin on December 8 at the Gabba, Brisbane.

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