ASHES TEST IN PERTH OFF
Finale is first casualty of Aussie quarantine rules
The Australian government have all but ruled out the prospect of the fifth Ashes Test taking place in Perth because of quarantine restrictions in Western Australia.
As doubts continue to surround the nature of the england team’s bubble arrangements ahead of the first Test at Brisbane on December 8, Australian sports minister Richard Colbeck said Tasmania — his home state — would be happy to step in and host the series finale in January.
Western Australia requires anyone arriving to quarantine for 14 days before being able to circulate freely — unless they have come from states that have gone 28 days without any community transmission of Covid-19.
The fourth Test at Sydney in New South Wales, which has been in and out of lockdown, is due to end on January 9, five days before the scheduled start in Perth.
‘We’ve had to do a lot of work to organise quarantine arrangements for cricketers coming into Australia,’ said Colbeck. ‘There are serious questions about whether there will be a Test match in Perth. If there’s no chance of coming here without prolonged quarantine, it just won’t occur.
‘After the Melbourne and Sydney Tests, there is no timeframe for players to quarantine before flying to Perth, so those arrangements are largely settled.
‘The Australian government wants the Ashes to go ahead, but the chances of the Perth Test taking place are very slim.’
Tasmania, also the home state of Australia Test captain Tim Paine (right), was due to host a Test against Afghanistan in late November, only for Cricket Australia to cancel it following the Taliban’s ban on women cricketers.
Meanwhile, it is not only england’s Ashes candidates who are concerned about the prospect of a 14-day quarantine in Australia — with players seemingly reluctant to sign up for this winter’s Big Bash League. Although up-and-coming stars such as Saqib Mahmood and George Garton have been announced for 2021-22, and others including big-hitting Yorkshire batter harry Brook are expected to follow, the number of english players in the BBL is set to be nowhere near last year’s level. In all, 18 signed up for 2020-21 and 15 appeared following withdrawals by Jonny Bairstow, Tom Curran and Tom Banton. But the prospect of having to arrive in mid-November for a competition which does not start until December 5 is dissuading some from committing this year. In addition to a fortnight locked away in a hotel, overseas players are being asked to spend a week training with team-mates in preparation.
Therefore, some are prioritising November’s T10 League in Abu Dhabi, for which english players need not quarantine.
Another complication is the uncertainty over which players would be available for the BBL. As well as naming an Ashes squad next week, an england Lions party is also due to tour Australia, with up to 30 selected in all.
Those who commit to a full BBL season would be in Australia from about November 15-January 28, a longer period than england’s multi-format players face if part of the five-Test tour.
It has placed the focus on to younger players such as Brook, 22, who is understood to be drawing interest from Brisbane, rather than those with families.