West Australian Premier Mark McGowan says the state is expecting to host the fifth Ashes Test as planned.
West Australian premier Mark McGowan is confident the fifth Ashes Test will proceed in Perth as planned but says neither side should expect special exemption from the state’s tough quarantine restrictions.
The premier’s announcement came on the same day Cricket Australia revealed the much-discussed one-off Test with Afghanistan would be postponed.
McGowan revealed on Friday that the state would not completely reopen its borders until 90 per cent of West Australians aged 12 and over were double-vaccinated against Covid-19.
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Western Australia is on track to reach the milestone in the weeks after the Test, but McGowan said the state had already proven it could host big-ticket sporting events with closed borders.
“We held the AFL grand final, the best one, I think, in history, in WA because we did it with Covid rules,” he told reporters.
“So I am sure we will be able to hold other sporting events.”
Unlike this year’s AFL grand final, though, the players contesting the fifth Ashes Test won’t have time to complete quarantine on arrival in Perth, given the fourth Test at the SCG wraps up only five days before the Perth Test begins.
Cricket sides from “low risk” states such as South Australia and Tasmania have been permitted to enter Western Australia freely for the ongoing Sheffield Shield, Marsh Cup and WBBL tournaments, but travellers from Victoria and NSW are currently subject to 14 days of quarantine on arrival.
McGowan ruled out the possibility of granting any exemptions for the English and Australian Test sides who will be arriving from Sydney.
“Over the last two years, police and health have put in place rules that require various forms of quarantine and bubbles and all that sort of thing for sporting teams coming from elsewhere,” McGowan said.
“We have done it consistently and allowed all the sporting codes to operate in a Covid-safe way and we have not had a single outbreak.
“Those sorts of measures have been put in place before and I’m sure we can manage it again.”
In September, federal Sports Minister Richard Colbeck said a Test could not be taken to Perth if the state government kept its strict quarantine guidelines in place.
“There’s serious questions about whether there’ll be a test match in Perth this summer,” Colbeck said.
“If there’s no chance of coming here without prolonged quarantine, it just won’t occur.”
England is unlikely to be enthusiastic about quarantine, either.
No side has played more Test cricket since the pandemic began than the English and the side’s concerns over bubble fatigue and quarantine put the Ashes under a cloud earlier in the year.
Nevertheless, McGowan said he expected state officials’ discussions with Cricket Australia to yield “a good outcome” for West Australian cricket fans.
“I understand the police and the health officials are working with Cricket Australia on all of those matters,” he said.
“(The Test) is something that will be worked on jointly and we are confident it will be a good outcome.
“As I have repeatedly said, sport is not my number one priority, but if we can do it safely we will.”
Afghan Test postponed
Australia’s one-off Test with Afghanistan won’t go ahead in Hobart from November 27 as planned.
Cricket Australia and the Afghanistan Cricket Board agreed to postpone the fixture to a date that has yet to be confirmed.
CA confirmed that the “uncertainty” around gender equality in sport under the Taliban’s regime influenced the postponement.
“CA is committed to support growing the game for women and men in Afghanistan and around the world; however, given the present uncertainty, CA felt it necessary to postpone the Test match until a later time when the situation is clearer,” a Cricket Australia statement read.
“CA looks forward to hosting Afghanistan players in the BBL this season who are great ambassadors for the game and to hosting both the Afghanistan women’s and men’s team in the not-too-distant future.”
Afghanistan all-rounder and T20I captain Mohammad Nabi said he was pleased the match had not been scrapped altogether.
“It’s disappointing the Test match isn’t going ahead this year, but I’m happy that the match is only postponed and not cancelled,” he said.
Originally published as WA Premier Mark McGowan gives update on Perth Ashes Test
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