The Hundred: ECB 'not able to continue' bio-secure bubbles during new tournament

England's cricketers will not be expected to live in bio-secure bubbles in the future because of the "detrimental impact" they have on mental health, says England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Tom Harrison.

England's men and women stayed in on-site hotels last summer in an attempt to combat the spread of coronavirus.

"We don't want to be closeting people in a place where they feel their only role in life is to go out and play bat and ball," Harrison said.

A Covid-19 outbreak in the England men's one-day international camp earlier in July forced the entire first-choice group into quarantine.

India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and a member of the tourist's coaching staff also recently tested positive for the virus, just weeks before a five-Test series against England.

The ECB's new 100-ball competition, The Hundred, begins on Wednesday, 21 July.

• How to follow the Hundred on the BBC

"Players are fed up with biosecurity and bubbles," Harrison said, at a media briefing for The Hundred.

"Biosecurity has had such a detrimental impact on mental health for players and we are not able to continue operating that type of environment going forward.

"We need to mitigate the impact of, frankly, inevitable infections."

Players still have to follow strict restrictions but they are allowed more freedom than in 2020 - they are, for example, allowed to mingle with each other in their hotels.

The ECB retains hope some of England's men's Test cricketers can still feature in The Hundred before departing to play in the series against India.

"It isn't impossible to operate within current guidelines and have a successful environment," Harrison added.

"We want people to feel good about going out to play. We want people to think their life is delivering for them on and off the field."