The Ashes: WA Government ‘unapologetic’ over lost Test, maintain fixtures should have been rearranged

Sports Minister Tony Buti insisted he was “unapologetic” after Perth was officially dumped from the summer Ashes schedule on Monday following weeks of stalled negotiations with Cricket Australia. After days of speculation it was confirmed Optus Stadium would miss out on the fifth and potentially deciding fixture due to “pandemic-related restrictions” - robbing West Australian cricket fans of an opportunity to watch one of the game’s most storied rivalries in person. Strict quarantine requirements imposed by the WA Government on both cricketers and broadcast staff proved too big a hurdle to overcome and the fate of the match was sealed when Cricket Australia refused to rearrange the order of the fixtures to play the second rather than fifth Test in Perth. “We believe that it was an appropriate request and offer to move the second Test to Perth,” Mr Buti said. “That could have been done. As we know, the AFL were able to reschedule events very quickly. We believe Cricket Australia could have done it if they really wanted to.” In a statement released Monday afternoon Cricket Australia said “absolutely every effort was made to ensure the final Test match of the series could be staged in Perth” but that “border controls, quarantine requirements and the complexities of staging a five-Test series in a tight schedule” meant a WA match was not possible. “These complexities also mean that any suggestion of changing the order of the venues would not be feasible,” the statement said. South Australian Premier Steven Marshall also rejected any suggestion Adelaide should miss out on the second Test. “Western Australia made themselves the 12th man and now they’re complaining about not being able to get onto the oval,” he said. “The reality is we are keeping the second Test here in Adelaide.” In his own statement posted to Facebook, Premier Mark McGowan said “we can’t have one set of rules for a Test Match in January and a different set of rules for another event in the same month”. “Our consistent approach throughout the pandemic has meant we have enjoyed the benefits of life without COVID in WA – including uninterrupted community and junior sport, which is so important to everyday life,” Mr McGowan said. Mr Buti said the WA Government approached Cricket Australia shortly after the September AFL grand final to request either the first or second Ashes Test be played in Perth, which would have allowed less strenuous quarantine requirements. “I think it was a very common sense suggestion and obviously over the weekend when we were receiving signals that the fifth Test possibly was not going to be played here, we put it back to them in a more forceful manner but unfortunately they decided that it won’t be held here,” Mr Buti said. The Sports Minister said he was “very disappointed” Perth would miss out but believed the majority of West Australians supported the WA Government’s hardline stance on borders and quarantine. “We remain unapologetic in our strict border requirements and quarantine arrangements which has served Western Australia very very well for two years,” Mr Buti said. “Overall, the public has shown that they have been incredibly supportive of the WA government’s regime and policy making and rules over the last two years in managing COVID.” WA Police deputy commissioner Gary Dreibergs said the major sticking point was Cricket Australia’s insistence on jetting “somewhere between 80 and 150 people” into WA as part of the broadcast team. “If they’re going to bring that many people over there was a lot of restrictions around that which they couldn’t meet,” Mr Dreibergs said. “So for instance, if a broadcast team came... directly from Sydney and they were going to bump in, they wanted to mix with the West Australian broadcasters who were actually not in a quarantine arrangement at all.” WA Cricket chief executive Christina Matthews - who last week estimated losing the Ashes Test could cost the organisation up to $5 million - said she was “extremely disappointed” by the decision.