The state government of Western Australia "confirmed the new Perth Stadium will not host the third Test of The Ashes cricket series in December," according to Allan-Petale & Foster of THE AGE. WA Minister for Sport & Recreation Mick Murray said that there was "no chance of a Test" at the new stadium. This means the Test will be played at the WACA, which hosted its first Ashes match in '70. Murray: "The scheduled opening has always been the start of the 2018 AFL (Australian Football League) season and that is what we're working towards. Hosting the Ashes Test at the new stadium would have been a spectacle, but unfortunately it's just not possible and the state government is now working to correct the problems we have inherited" (THE AGE, 5/10). In Melbourne, Russell Gould reported five pitches are in place at the A$1.5B ($1.1B) venue in Perth and Cricket Australia officials were "as late as this week holding out hope the new stadium would be ready for cricket this summer." That "puts a line through as many as 250,000 extra people paying to see cricket in Perth this summer," including the moved Ashes Test, the one-day game and the "potentially expanded" Big Bash League season. BBL side Perth Scorchers "have sold out their past 14 home games." CA CEO James Sutherland said, "Coming to Perth, we knew it needed to be finished ahead of time and everything needed to come together, but it’s still disappointing" (HERALD SUN, 5/10).
ONE LAST TIME: In London, Mike Hytner reported Sutherland indicated the stadium "could yet host the final instalment of the five-match ODI series" between Australia and England on Jan. 28, but "ruled out the vast majority" of the men's and women's BBL seasons being played there. News of an Ashes swan song at the WACA "may not be too warmly welcomed within England’s batting ranks, considering the team's dreadful record there." England has won "just once on the notoriously hard and fast track" (GUARDIAN, 5/10). ABC's Pamela Medlen reported Murray said that "Labor would not open" the Perth stadium "prematurely." He said, "There's one thing we're adamant about, we're not having people going into the stadium with it half done. We want the first experience in the stadium to be the best experience, so they come back again. But if you go there and the toilets don't work or you can't get in there in the bus because of other problems, it will just be a letdown for the whole of Western Australia" (ABC, 5/10).
