Perth was axed Monday
as host of the potentially pivotal fifth Ashes Test between Australia and
England because of tough Covid rules which require players to spend 14 days in
quarantine.

A decision on the new venue for the Test, scheduled to start
on January 14, is yet to be made with Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney all keen to
play host.

It means that Perth will go without a Test for the second
year running after also missing out last season due to Covid, which robbed it
of a proposed historic first Test between Australia and Afghanistan.

“We are very disappointed that we are unable to stage
the fifth men’s Ashes Test at Perth Stadium,” said Cricket Australia chief
Nick Hockley, ahead of the start of the Ashes in Brisbane on Wednesday.

“We did everything we could in partnership with the WA
(Western Australia state) government and WA Cricket to make it work under the
current border and health arrangements, but unfortunately this was not
possible.”

There had been suggestions that some of Western Australia’s
tough Covid restrictions would be relaxed for the cricketers, but the emergence
of the new Omicron variant complicated matters.

Last week state Premier Mark McGowan said WA’s hardline
quarantine rules would remain, meaning players travelling from the fourth Test
in Sydney would have to quarantine for two weeks on arrival.

The decision to dump Perth came after an audacious
last-minute bid by the West Australian city to swap its Test match with
Adelaide’s, which a state senior government official called a
“no-brainer”.

Adelaide is due to host the second Test from December 16
after the opener in Brisbane this week.

Travellers from Brisbane do not need to quarantine when
arriving in Perth and the state’s Sport and Recreation Minister Tony Buti
earlier Monday said it made sense to change the order of venues.

“If cricket isn’t able to meet our border rules for the
fifth Test in Perth, then they should move the second Test to Perth instead.
It’s a no-brainer,” he said.

The suggestion brought a swift response from the South
Australian Cricket Association, which issued a stern rebuke.

The Ashes are currently scheduled to be played in Brisbane,
Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney, before the fifth Test.