The fifth and final Test of the Ashes series between Australia and England will not be played in Perth due to stringent Covid-19 related restrictions being imposed by Western Australia, Cricket Australia confirmed in a statement. However, an alternative venue has not yet been decided and the process of finalising the venue for the Ashes finale scheduled from January 14 is still underway.
"While absolutely every effort was made to ensure the final Test match of the series could be staged in Perth, border controls, quarantine requirements and the complexities of staging a five-Test series in a tight schedule have meant it is unfortunately not possible to align the respective priorities of the WA Government, CA and WA Cricket," CA said in a statement.
"These complexities also mean that any suggestion of changing the order of the venues would not be feasible. Discussions about a replacement venue for the fifth Test match are underway."
The Ashes series is scheduled to begin on December 8 in Gabba before the teams will travel to Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney for the second, third and fourth Test of the series respectively.