WA Cricket pitches plan to host Boxing Day Test as harsh border restrictions look set to derail Ashes schedule

WA Cricket has pitched a bold plan — which could include bringing the famous annual Boxing Day Test to Perth — in a bid to save the summer of cricket. WA Cricket chief executive officer Christina Matthews has told Cricket Australia that the current Ashes program — with the Fifth Test scheduled for Perth from January 14 — won’t work because extreme border restrictions with Sydney and Melbourne would stop the Australian and English teams coming to WA without having to quarantine. Currently, the Ashes series is set begin in Brisbane on December 8, followed by Tests in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. But Ms Matthews has told Cricket Australia’s Nick Hockley that instead of Perth hosting the last Ashes match — five days after the fourth Test match in Sydney — it should instead kick off the series, or at the very least be in the first three matches of the series. This would see States least affected by COVID-19 – WA, South Australia and Queensland – hold Ashes Test matches before Melbourne and Sydney, avoiding hard border issues for the Australian and English teams. “As of today, it (Perth Ashes Test) couldn’t happen (because of extreme border restrictions with NSW),” Ms Matthews said. “We know it (WA Test Match) is under real threat.” Potentially, Optus Stadium could hold the Boxing Day Test, scheduled for Melbourne on December 26. “We would love to be in first three Tests (of the Ashes series) and the Boxing Day Test is one of those,” Ms Matthews said yesterday. “If that could come to Perth it would be brilliant. It would be like the AFL grand final. But our endeavour is to try and get the game moved somewhere in the first three Tests.” WA has already imposed an extreme risk hard border with NSW because of soaring COVID-19 cases and will move to the same category for Victoria on Wednesday. Under this category, exemptions for travellers are restricted to Commonwealth and State officials, MPs, diplomats and specialist or extraordinary circumstances determined by the State Emergency Co-ordinator or the Chief Health Officer. Premier Mark McGowan is insisting he won’t budge on hard borders with COVID-19 ravaged States until WA’s double dose vaccination rate hits between 80 and 90 per cent. Even if that rate is hit in December, Mr McGowan says he will give unvaccinated West Australians two months to get the jab before opening up State borders. Under that scenario, the scheduled January 14 Perth Ashes Test Match would likely not go ahead. Mr McGowan yesterday offered little hope to WA Cricket that a January Ashes Test could proceed, saying the situation would be assessed on its merits at the time. “It’s too difficult to predict at the moment,” he said. “What won’t change though is I won’t take unnecessary risks. The health of Western Australians will always be the priority.” Ms Matthews said it would be a “catastrophe” and a “blight on Australian cricket” if WA, which did not play host to India last summer, missed out on Test cricket for two years in a row.