Cricket Australia confirms Perth will not host Ashes series finale

Cricket Australia has this afternoon confirmed that the fifth Ashes Test of the upcoming summer will not be played in Perth, with the Western Australian Government’s unwillingness to make exemptions to its strict COVID-19 border policies meaning the match will be relocated.

Cricket Australia advised that extensive talks with the Western Australian Government and the Western Australian Cricket Association had failed to ensure the series finale against England could be played as planned at Optus Stadium.

In a statement, it advised “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.”

The match scheduled to start on 14th January will now be shifted elsewhere, with Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra all looking to step in as hosts, with Hobart being suggested as the most likely venue.

The announcement followed weeks of speculation that the Western Australian Government would not shift its stance on admissions to the state.

Cricket Australia Chief Executive, Nick Hockley went on to say “we are very disappointed that we are unable to stage the fifth men's Ashes Test at Perth Stadium.

"We are particularly disappointed for Western Australian cricket fans who were so looking forward to seeing the first ever Ashes Test at the new stadium."

Perth has not staged a men's Test since 2019. Last year's fixture between Australia and Afghanistan was postponed because of COVID-19.

Image of Optus Stadium courtesy of VenuesLive.