The ECB announce today the cancellation of the Ashes tour 2013/4. The series was released briefly on Thursday 21st November 2013 on but has since been removed following negative consumer feedback.
They released this statement today:
?As most people who have followed the project closely can affirm, the development of Ashes Cricket 2013 has been fraught with challenges almost from the outset. The chosen team, even with their many years of cricket experience, was unable to overcome the unexpected challenges that the chosen opposition threw up. At the start of the tour, we received all assurances from the captain that the team was up to the task of playing dynamic, cutting-edge cricket for the modern age across multiple formats, and unfortunately those assurances were found to be misplaced.?
?The net result of the challenges we have faced was a team which, despite our best efforts over the course of a 2 year development, couldn?t meet the quality benchmarks of either us, our licensors or our customers. Our main priority right now is to protect the Ashes name and that of the ECB and Cricket Australia, and do what we can to recompense the cricket community.?
?As the licensee and publisher of name for Ashes Cricket 2013, we would like to apologise publicly and sincerely to our licensors, the ECB and Cricket Australia, and their respective partners/sponsors, who have been nothing but patient and supportive of us throughout the challenges this project has presented, and who, ultimately, we have let down with our performance in Brisbane. ?
?Our deepest apologies, however, are reserved for the fans of cricket worldwide. The ECB prides itself on being a safe pair of hands on which fans of all tastes and denominations can rely to put their best foot forward to create compelling cricketing experiences. It is clear that, in this instance, we have fallen way short of our stated aims and failed to deliver. We know that the mitigating factors, as highlighted above, hold little solace to the hordes of excited cricket fans worldwide who had hoped this year to be able to play out their fantasy of seeing England compete in this Ashes series.?
?The people who purchased tickets will be contacted very shortly with details of a full refund.?
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