Perth may not be able to host an Ashes test between Australia and England due to COVID-19 restrictions, Sports Minister Richard Colbeck said on Tuesday.
Notably, Perth is scheduled to host the fifth and final test from January 14 however, Colbeck believes that as Western Australia (WA) has strict quarantine rules, the players would not want to serve quarantine for 14 days.
“We’ve had to do a lot of work to organise quarantine arrangements for cricketers coming into Australia,” Colbeck was quoted as saying by Perth radio station 6PR.
“There’s serious questions about whether there’ll be a test match in Perth this summer. If there’s no chance of coming here without prolonged quarantine, it just won’t occur,” he added.
The Ashes will begin in Brisbane on December 8, followed by tests in Adelaide (Dec. 16), Melbourne (Dec. 26) and Sydney (Jan. 5).
On the other hand, Cricket Australia (CA) has said it was planning that the series happens as scheduled.
Earlier, many England players have threatened to pull out of the series if forced to adhere to Australia’s strict quarantine regime. They have also sought assurances that their families will be able to travel to Australia and tour with them.
WA Cricket chief Christina Matthews has said the sport’s state governing body had asked CA to move the Perth match forward in the schedule to avoid the quarantine snag.
“We know it is under real threat,” Matthews was quoted as saying by The West Australian newspaper.