After finding out that Perth will not be hosting a single Test match vs India in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) chief Christina Matthews has been left shocked, yet again. While Virat Kohli’s India did play a Test in Perth in 2018, WACA was snubbed on India’s 2014 tour to Australia.
Cricket Australia on Thursday revealed the schedule of the India series with the inaugral Test supposed to take place at The Gabba in Brisbane. The next 3 Tests will be played in Adelaide (Day-Night), Melbourne and Sydney respectively.
On the other hand, Perth has been awarded a sort of consolation prize with the one-off Test against Afghanistan pinned there from November 21 at the new Optus Stadium.
Matthews and other WACA officials are therby angry at the decusion to leave out Perth from the plans even after having built a multi-million dollar stadium. WACA is also aware that for Indian audiences, the timings in Perth are much better suited than the rest of the country.
“All the metrics associated with cricket over the last two years see us surpass Brisbane in every area, whether that’s crowds, broadcast ratings, even better rainfall at that time of year, more corporate seats – just so many indicators – and a brand new stadium,” Matthews told reporters on Thursday.
“When Australian cricket’s primary objective is fans first, it is astounding that the 10,000 members who pay money to support cricket year after year in this state are not afforded the number one Test team to tour this year.
“The last time (in 2014), we were told it was because our venue wasn’t good enough and if we supported a new stadium, this would never happen again. And here we are again.”
2019-20 AUSTRALIA v INDIA SCHEDULE
Gillette Men’s T20I Series against India
1st T20I: Gabba, Brisbane (October 11)
2nd T20I: Manuka Oval, Canberra (October 14)
3rd T20I: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (October 17)
Gillette Men’s ODI Series against India
1st ODI: Perth Stadium, Perth (January 12)
2nd ODI: MCG, Melbourne (January 15)
3rd ODI: SCG, Sydney (January 17)
Border-Gavaskar series
1st Test: The Gabba, December 3-7
2nd Test: Adelaide Oval, December 11-15 (day-night)
3rd Test: Melbourne Cricket Ground, December 26
4th Test: Sydney Cricket Ground, early January
