Sun sets on West’s hopes for fifth Test

MELBOURNE and Sydney have firmed in the reckoning to host a second Ashes Test this summer as Perth’s prospects continue to fade.

Despite being publicly optimistic about the chances of the fifth Test being played at Perth’s Optus Stadium there is an air of doom among senior officials about the match due to tight border restrictions.

WACA chief Christina Matthews, on ABC radio on Saturday, rated Perth a 50-50 chance of hosting the January Test – she had previously been as high as 97 per cent – but many eastern states officials are not as positive.

A shorter quarantine period for players in Perth may not be enough to save the Test because England players said before the tour they would be against going into hard quarantine for a second time after the squad’s initial stint on arrival in Queensland.

Significantly, if England refuses to play in Perth, it would not be cast as the villain for even the Australian Cricketers Association has said promises made to the tourists must be met during the tour.

As well as the players’ concerns, television broadcasters face an extremely difficult task getting specialist staff into Perth amid the restrictions.

Hobart had put an ambitious bid in for the final Ashes Test several weeks ago with one of the factors being it was likely to be Tim Paine’s last Test before retirement.

But with that option effectively off the table after Paine stood down from the team following a sexting scandal and the Tasmanian board opening fire on Cricket Australia over how it handled the episode, there seems no chance the game will be going to Hobart.

Canberra has also been in talks but a ground capacity of about 13,000 at Manuka Oval counts against that venue.