Perth’s hopes of hosting the fifth Ashes Test have been put in serious doubt after Western Australia’s premier said players and broadcasters must quarantine for 14 days on entering the state.
SYDNEY – Perth’s hopes of hosting the fifth Ashes Test were in serious doubt on Tuesday after Western Australia’s premier said players and broadcasters must quarantine for 14 days on entering the state.
Cricket officials had been confident the potentially pivotal clash between Australia and England would go ahead in the city after suggestions that some of its tough Covid restrictions would be relaxed or exemptions granted.
But the emergence of the new Omicron coronavirus variant has complicated matters and Premier Mark McGowan indicated the state’s hardline quarantine rules would remain.
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Canberra and Hobart have both expressed interest in hosting the match should Perth be axed, although a second Test in either Sydney or Melbourne are also options.
MCG Might Host Ashes Finale In Place Of Perth https://t.co/gzFJaNPctg
— IndianSports11 (@indian_sports11) November 29, 2021
“The thing about the Ashes and Cricket Australia is we have put in place very strict rules,” McGowan told reporters.
“We’ve said to them they need to have 14 days of quarantine and that has to apply to all of the broadcast staff, all the cricket staff.”
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The Perth Test is scheduled to start on January 14, five days after the fourth Test in Sydney, meaning a two-week quarantine period would not be possible.
McGowan stressed that players’ families would not be allowed in no matter what.
The emergence of the Omicron variant has cast further doubt on the fifth Ashes Test being played in Perth, with Western Australia indicating there will be no exemptions to their strict quarantine rules.
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) November 30, 2021
“They can’t just bring wives and girlfriends with them – the same rules as we put in place for the AFL (Australian Rules). It is up to them whether they want to adhere to those rules or not.”
Australian media said the Melbourne Cricket Ground was the front-runner to replace Perth, possibly under lights as a day-night match with the pink ball.
The latest on the Perth #Ashes Test situation:https://t.co/4oWgsbGHaI
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 30, 2021
The Ashes gets under way next week in Brisbane before moving to Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney ahead of Perth.
AFP
