Due to the border controls in Western Australia, the fifth test in the 2017 Ashes series between Australia and England will be shifted from Perth to another location, Cricket Australia (CA) announced on Monday.
The governing body said it had been unable to reach an agreement on circumstances for the Jan. 14-18 match at Perth Stadium that would benefit all parties, and that talks for a new venue had begun.
CA chief executive Nick Hockley said in a statement, “We are very unhappy that we will not be able to stage the Ashes test at Perth Stadium.”
“We tried everything we could within the current border and health arrangements to make it work, but it was impossible.”
With stringent measures, Western Australia has mainly kept COVID-19 out of the state, and it presently prohibits travellers from New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia from crossing its border without first passing a 14-day quarantine.
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The fourth test is set to end on Jan. 9 in Sydney, New South Wales, leaving the players with inadequate time to complete their term of isolation.
Hobart, which was set to host a test against Afghanistan in November before being postponed due to the Taliban’s control of the nation, is the frontrunner to host the fifth test.
Officials in Sydney and Melbourne have also expressed interest in hosting a second test match in the series.
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A last-ditch attempt by a Western Australian government minister to keep the test going by swapping dates with the second test in Adelaide on December 16-20 was failed.
Travellers from Queensland, where the first test begins on Wednesday, are allowed to enter Western Australia without quarantine, and sports minister Tony Buti had suggested that the players fly straight to Perth from Brisbane.
“It is unfortunately not possible to synchronise the respective goals (of all stakeholders) due to border controls, quarantine regulations, and the complexity of staging a five-test series on a tight timetable,” according to the CA statement.
“Because of these difficulties, any proposal of rearranging the venues would be impossible.”
