Ashes finale won’t be played in Perth

Cricket Australia has confirmed the fifth Vodafone Ashes Test won’t be staged in Perth as originally scheduled due to Western Australia’s strict COVID-19 travel restrictions, but a decision on where the potential series decider will be played is yet to be finalized.

Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney are reported to be possible venues for the fixture after it became apparent Perth’s chances were of conducting the match is dimming. The final match in Test cricket’s oldest rivalry was due to be played from January 14-18 at Perth’s Optus Stadium, the first time the newly developed 60,000-seat venue had hosted an Ashes encounter.

However, following the emergence of the virus’ new Omicron variant last month, the West Australia Government, West Australia Cricket, and Cricket Australia could not reach an agreement. WA government has put strict COVID protocols under which, players, their families, as well as match and broadcast staff traveling to Perth after completion of the fourth Test in Sydney (January 5-9), would be required to complete 14 days quarantine upon arrival in WA.

The statement released by CA stated “While absolutely every effort was made to ensure the final Test match of the series could be staged in Perth, border controls, quarantine requirements and the complexities of staging a five-Test series in a tight schedule have meant it is unfortunately not possible to align the respective priorities of the WA Government, CA and WA Cricket. These complexities also mean that any suggestion of changing the order of the venues would not be feasible. Discussions about a replacement venue for the fifth Test match are underway.” 

Under WA’s current COVID-19 border requirements, travelers arriving from Brisbane are not required to quarantine. It will be interesting to how the entire situation will turn out and whether WACA Members and WA fans will be able to attend the match in Perth who have been looking forward to this fixture for a long time.