Shane Warne's brutal swipe at state's 'inhumane' restrictions

Shane Warne has taken a brutal swipe at quarantine restrictions in Victoria after announcing plans to return home for the Australian summer of cricket.

The King of Spin is set to fly back from his London base in preparations for the Ashes, following confirmation from England that the series would go ahead under "several critical conditions".

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However, Warne has taken aim at what he describes as the "inhumane" quarantine restrictions imposed on Victorians.

“Can I do home quarantine in Victoria now as I’m double vaccinated or is it still the inhumane 14 day hotel quarantine in a tiny little room as all residents returning home have had to do?” the Test great tweeted to his legion of followers.

Victoria requires citizens returning to the state to undergo a 14-day quarantine period at hotel at their own expense, with no plans at this stage to roll out a stay-at-home quarantine like that which is being trialled in New South Wales.

Once 80 per cent of Victorians over 16 are double vaccinated, the state is set to revise those restrictions on international travellers.

Victoria is also set to revise its policy on interstate travel once that double-vaxx number hits 70 per cent but recent figures showed that just under 60 per cent of those aged 16 and above have had their two jabs across the state.

While Warne may have hoped that he could quarantine at home after arriving back from London, the Victorian government does not grant exemptions on the account of being double-vaccinated.

Warne's criticism comes as the daunting Delta outbreak continues to wreak havoc on Victoria, with another huge spike in cases resulting in record highs for the state and country.

On Saturday, the Department of Health announced a further 1965 locally acquired Covid-19 cases and five more deaths.

The case total is the largest daily increase of any state since the pandemic began.

England's cricket board has been dealing with similar concerns to Warne's, having just given the Ashes tour of Australia the green light, under a number of conditions.

England approves Ashes under 'conditions'

Reports emerged earlier in the week that England's players had agreed on taking part in the $200 million series, despite concerns over lockdowns and quarantine conditions in Australia.

Those concerns have raised serious question marks about whether the iconic series - set to start on December 8 in Brisbane - will go ahead.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) issued a statement on Friday to put to bed any lingering doubts, but did stress that a number of key measures still needed to be agreed upon.

"Over recent weeks we have made excellent progress in moving forward on the England Men's Ashes Tour," read Friday's ECB statement.

"To facilitate further progress and allow a squad to be selected, the ECB Board has met today and given its approval for the tour to go ahead.

"This decision is subject to several critical conditions being met before we travel.

"We look forward to the ongoing assistance from Cricket Australia in resolving these matters in the coming days."

The ECB statement didn't elaborate on what the "critical conditions" were but the major sticking point for England seems to have been whether the squad's family members could join them in Australia over the festive period.

Reports have suggested they could be given the use of a Gold Coast resort in Queensland to quarantine before the first Test while their families, arriving for Christmas, could be accommodated at a resort in the Yarra Valley before the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.

The green light for the tour has only come about after long-running negotiations between the two countries - even at the highest level.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson even raised the issue with Scott Morrison last month, while the Australian Prime Minister also reached out to captain Paine over the tour.

with AAP

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