Australia to go ahead with limited overs tour of England

Australia's limited overs tour of England will go ahead at the end of this month as planned, Cricket Australia (CA) confirmed on Friday.

CA's board gave its final approval to the planned tour last week and the Australian government has now granted exemptions for outbound travel for the touring Australia squad.

Australia will leave from Perth on August 23 and travel to Derby. They are scheduled to play four practice matches – three Twenty20s and one 50-over game – before facing England in three T20s and three ODIs at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton and Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester. Both venues have hotels on site.

The T20s will be at Southampton on September 4, 6 and 8. The Old Trafford in Manchester will stage the ODIs on September 11, 13 and 16.

ECB chief executive officer Tom Harrison said: "We owe a significant debt of gratitude to the players, staff and administrators of Cricket Australia for their efforts in getting this tour underway.

"Their co-operation to ensure these matches are staged is crucial to cricket in this country. It will also provide much-needed financial aid at all levels of cricket in England and Wales as we work through the challenges in front of us."

"We are very excited to be heading to England and to get back into the international fray. We congratulate the ECB on leading the resumption of the game in a way that places the health and safety of players and staff at its core," Nick Hockley, CA's interim chief executive, said in a statement.