Test Match cricket at Optus Stadium is hard to beat. Photo: Getty
Camera IconTest Match cricket at Optus Stadium is hard to beat. Photo: Getty Credit: Supplied/Cricket Australia via Getty Imag

Perth and Brisbane vie for India Test

Justin ChadwickSouthern Gazette

WACA chief executive Christina Matthews says it will lack logic if Perth misses out on hosting India in a Test next summer.

With the SCG, MCG, and almost certainly Adelaide Oval all set to host India in the four-Test series, Brisbane and Perth are locked in a two-way battle for the remaining Test.

The venue that misses out on a Test against India will host lowly-ranked Afghanistan instead.

PerthNow Digital Edition.
Your local paper, whenever you want it.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

Australia’s dominant record on the juicy Gabba pitch plays heavily in Brisbane’s favour, with the national side not losing a Test there since 1988.

Players are also heavily in favour of playing a Test against India at the Gabba.

Counting against Brisbane are the poor attendances the venue has attracted in recent years.

Perth missed out on hosting a Test altogether during the four-Test summer of 2014-15, which was shorter than normal because of the 2015 one-day World Cup.

But that was before Perth boasted a state-of-the-art 60,000-seat stadium that has received rave reviews from all around the world.

Cricket Australia will make its decision in April about whether its Perth or Brisbane who get to host a Test against India next summer.

Even though CA doesn’t require a submission, the WACA will collaborate with the WA Government and Tourism WA to put through a strong proposal about why Optus Stadium shouldn’t miss out.

“We couldn’t really argue with the decision in 2014 (when Perth missed out on a Test), but we can argue strongly this year,” Matthews said.

“When you have a stadium like this and everyone is clambering to get content into it – with Manchester United, rugby union, rugby league – why would cricket be the one sport that chooses not to use it?

“That’s the lack of logic that I have in it. In our minds, there is no reason for there not to be an India Test here next year.”

– AAP